Exodus
by DarkHeartInTheSky
Summary: Pre-canon. Yugi left the only home he ever knew in hope of escaping his tormentors. Joey doesn't know why he feels so guilty about Yugi's leaving, or why he feels compelled to bring him home, but for some reason, he needs to make things right. No yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

** This was originally planned to be a one-shot, but it would've been way to long, so I broke it up into chapters. I hope you enjoy! I do not own Yugioh.**

** Exodus: Meaning, a leaving or great migration.**

** Based on the song by Evanescence. **

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was October. The red and yellow and brown leaves that had fallen to the earth crunched underneath his feet as he ran to the only sanctuary he had known as a child: Home. Or, it was the closest thing to home that he knew. They had done it again. They had made him feel stupid, pathetic, and worthless; they made him feel like a child, they made him feel weak. And they had done all that in just one day. Hot tears ran down his face, soaking his cheeks as he ran away from his tormentors, clutching tightly to the straps of his backpack. People were giving him strange looks as they stared at the crying teenager. They always stared. Why wouldn't they? He was sixteen, but had the stature of someone six years younger. His hair was even odder than his height. It stood up and pointed out, like a star, and was colored black, yellow, and red. It always made him the center of attention.

But he didn't care whether they were staring at him because he was crying, or whether it was his hair, or of his height. The point was they were staring, and he hated it when they stared. It made him uncomfortable. It made him feel small. It made him feel as though nothing was in his control. And his tormentors knew that. It was why they always made other people stare.

He stopped outside a building with large red letters on the outside labeled Game Shop. It was his home, his sanctuary. He waited outside the door for a few minutes to compose himself. He couldn't let his Grandfather see him like this. His Grandfather didn't need to be burdened with his problems. He never bothered his Grandfather with his trouble with the bullies at school. It wasn't his problem, and Yugi needed to fight his own battles. Once he had stopped the tears from falling and was able to speak clearly, he pushed opened the door and the little bell chimed.

"Yugi?" A voice called from the back storage room. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, Grandpa." Yugi said dully walking over to the door to help out his Grandfather. He pushed opened the door and saw Grandpa going through boxes, making stakes of Duel Monster booster packs. The small, aluminum packs were stacked neatly, sorted into separate piles of whatever monster was on the cover. There was a Kuriboh pack, a Mystic Elf pack, and a Dark Magician, which called beckoned Yugi. He bent down and gently picked it up. He caressed the face of the Dark Magician. Yugi always wanted one. He had searched through at least one hundred booster packs, but none of them ever held the Dark Magician as the packing would advertise. Yugi had never owned one, but it was already his favorite card and he couldn't wait until the one day when he peeled over the wrapper and saw the Dark Magician staring back at him.

His Grandfather saw the way his grandson looked at the pack. He knew of Yugi's love for the game of Duel Monsters, and he knew how hard he had been trying over these last few years to create the perfect deck. "Yugi," he began, "this is our new shipment. Who knows what kinds of cards might be in them? How about instead of an allowance this week, I let you pick out a few of these packs?"

Normally, Yugi would have agreed without hesitation to his Grandfather's proposal. He only got his hands on a few packs each year, mostly because his tormentors at school always had a way of getting their hands on his allowance. His Grandfather had never offered this kind of exchange before. Yugi wanted to say yes, but after what happened today, he felt that he would need the money more than he would need the cards.

"Actually, Grandpa," Yugi said, avoiding his Grandfather's gaze. "I kind of need the money right now. For school." He quickly threw in at the end, to avoid any suspicion. He already had a plan in mind of what he was going to do. He had thought it a thousand times, but this time was for real. He wasn't playing any more games. He was going to do it.

"That's not a problem, Yugi. Just grab it out of the cash register."

"Thank you, Grandpa. I have homework I need to do." He lied. He wasn't going to be doing any more homework for a while. Maybe not ever again, if things went his way.

"Alright, just come down in time for supper."

Yugi nodded and turned around, letting the booster pack of Duel Monsters fall from his hands onto the ground. He left the room without a second thought and went up to the counter where the cash register was. He imputed the correct combination and the drawer popped open with a small ding. Yugi reached for the ten dollars he was given each week, and found himself staring at the rest of the money. It wasn't much. Maybe fifty bucks. Yugi sighed. The Game Shop hadn't been doing too well finincally ever since videogames were becoming more popular. Board and card games were now becoming digitalized, no one needed the board games, or the actual cards anymore. Yugi felt extremely guiltly as he stared at the few dollar bills in his Grandfather's cash register. It wasn't fair; his Grandfather worked so hard, but in the end he ended spending the majority of the money he had earned on Yugi.

Yugi pocketed his allowance. He felt bad about taking it, but he needed it right now. It wouldn't matter anyways. Over the next few weeks, his Grandfather would earn some more money and could spend it on what he wanted. Feeling tears starting to sting at the corners of eyes again, Yugi ran up the stairs and into his room where he slammed the door shut. He feel onto his bed and cried for what he was about to do. He didn't know why though. The only person who would miss him would be his Grandfather, but Yugi was sure he would soon get over it. After all, not even his own parents wanted him. Which is why he had to do this.

-Earlier that Day-

_ It was recess and everyone was outside on the playground. The boys were in a game of basketball and the girls were sitting underneath the oak trees, gossiping and applying make-up. The entire student body was out there._

_ Except for one boy._

_ Yugi Motou, the social outcast, the school scapegoat. He sat at his desk, with his head hanging down. His hands were working gingerly on a puzzle. The pieces were 3-D and made out of solid gold. It was why he only worked on it when nobody else was around. He didn't want anyone to steal it. The Millennium Puzzle. It was an artifact from Egypt his Grandfather had given him eight years ago. He spent every day on it, but had only gotten a small amount done over the last couple of years. He had no idea what shape it was, and the pieces had many crevices and could fit in several different ways. But, he had not given up on it, even though he was sure now he would never finish it. He loved puzzles because you could do them by yourself, which is where Yugi was most of the time._

_ He hadn't any friends. Maybe it was because he was short. Maybe it was because of his odd hair. Maybe it was because of his adoration of games. He didn't know why his peers hated him. He didn't know why he was constantly bullied, why people poured their leftover milk in his hair at lunch, why the tripped him in the halls, or why they shoved him into lockers. He didn't know why the stole his books and locked them in the lockers way above his head, laughing at him as he did his very best to jump up and get them out. He had no idea why anyone did any of the things he went through. But they just did, and that was what Yugi had come to face every day. Yugi wouldn't tell anyone. He didn't want to worry his Grandfather, and he had learned a long time ago that it does no good to tell the teachers. _

_ Click. His heart raced as the two pieces slide together, perfectly in place. It was the first big step he had taken in completing this puzzle in months. Yugi was so engrossed in trying to find another piece to fit in that he didn't hear the footsteps coming towards him. He didn't know that another presence was in the room until the large hand swept down and stole the box where he kept all the puzzle pieces. Yugi gasped and looked up to see who had taken his puzzle box. He gulped when he saw who it was._

_ Joseph 'Joey' Wheeler. The biggest bully Yugi had to face at school. The blonde looked down at the puzzle box he had picked up with a scrutinizing look. His bottom lip puckered out and one of his eyebrows was pressed down. It made look incredibly stupid, but Yugi knew better than to comment on it._

_ "Joey!" He cried, jumping down from his seat. "Give it back!"_

_ Joey seemed to ignore the smaller teen's cries and when Yugi ran closer to him he put out his free hand and placed it against Yugi's forehead, pushing him backwards while he struggled to get closer. _

_ "Yo, Yugi," he began, not bothering to make any eye contact with his victim, "don't you ever get tired of just sitting here each day, playing with these stupid toys?" _

_ "Joey!" Yugi had given up on fighting. Joey's hand was still pushing on his forehead, and there was no way Yugi could break free of his grip. "Please, give it back." _

_ "Why should I? I mean, all you do every day is sit here working on this stupid thing. Why is it so important to you?"_

_ "My Grandpa gave that to me. Please, it means a lot to me."_

_ Joey didn't try to suppress a snicker. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize your _Grandpa_ have given it to you! That makes so much sense!" He pushed Yugi to the ground and quickly took a piece of the puzzle out of the box. Yugi saw it and rushed to his feet. _

_ "Please, Joey. I need that!"_

_ "What you need, Little Yugi, is to be taught a life lesson." He placed the box back down on the desk, but kept the one he had taken in his palm. He turned around and started to walk off with it. Yugi's eyes widened in panic when he saw Joey walk towards the window. _

_ "No!" He screamed and ran as fast as he could to catch up with Joey. He got there just as Joey had opened the window which was right above the waters that surrounded the school. From the outside, the water was barricaded by a large fence. If Joey threw it out the window, there was no way Yugi could get it back._

_ "Joey, please don't!" _

_ The blonde turned back to face Yugi. The look in his eyes was awful. It was almost…demonic. He smiled, revealing his teeth. "I'm doing this for your own good, Yugi." _

_ Everything seemed to be in slow-motion. Yugi watched, frozen, as Joey's wrist was pulled back and then thrown forward, a small glint of gold sparkled in the sun. Yugi could hear the small plop sound as the puzzle piece hit the water._

_ "No." Yugi whispered, falling to his knees. The tears came. Now he could never complete the puzzle! All those years, those countless nights he stayed up just to get some of it done, wasted! Done the drain! The sentimental value of the gift his Grandfather had given him was destroyed. _

_ "Stop crying." Joey snapped, no sympathy in his voice. "Now you can spend recess with the big boys."_

_ Yugi didn't say anything. He whimpered and let his tears hit the ground. Joey became angered by the boy's silence._

_ "Motou! I said stop crying!" His fist came in contact with Yugi's stomach, and the blow sent Yugi onto his back. Yugi let out a sharp gasp of pain. From down the hall he could hear the voices of other people coming in earlier from recess. _

_ "Hey, look guys!" He heard one voice call. "Wheeler's beating the shit out of Yugi!"_

_ Before he knew it, a crowd had gathered around him, laughing and pointing as another one of Joey's fist hit him right in the gut. He pulled his knees to his chest protectively. _

_ "C'mon, Motou!" Joey shouted, the frustration in his voice was evident. "Fight back! Be a man!"_

_ The crowd that had gathered cheered. They were stomping their feet. Yugi's ears were on the ground and he could hear and feel the vibrations of them stomping. It echoed inside his mind. They were clapping their hands too, chanting: Be a man! Be a man! Be a man!_

_ He was beyond humiliated. He didn't know what to feel. He just let the tears fall. _

_ "Look guys!" Joey called out in a mocking way. "He's still crying. I think we should teach him how real men act!"_

_ They cheered and whistled again. _

_ "Who wants a shot at him?"_

_ The crowd cheered and applauded. They whistled at the idea to have a shot of beating on the worthless school scapegoat. Yugi was sure they were going to beat him into oblivion, but one student called out, "Shit! Recess is over. Teachers are coming!"_

_ The group ran off, each person going into their respective classrooms. Joey picked Yugi up by the back of his shirt and placed him limply onto his feet. Yugi hung his head so that his hair drooped down and covered his eyes._

_ "You disgust me." Joey spat. "You had your chance to act to like a man back there and you did nothing! Why didn't you stand up? Why didn't you punch me in the face, or kick me? Why did you just let me beat you?"_

_ "V-violence doesn't s-solve anything." Yugi stuttered, taking short, shallow breaths. _

_ Joey scoffed. "Is that really the answer you're going to give me? That clichéd piece of horse shit everyone's been feeding us since elementary school?"_

_ Yugi nodded, still keeping his eyes covered. He was already ashamed, and his stomach hurt from where Joey had punched him. It was going to bruise, Yugi knew that. He knew the feeling of skin turning purple. At least it was on his torso, where it could be easily covered. _

_ "I can't believe you. You should just leave now, never come back. Nobody likes you, nobody wants you. Just, go away Yugi. Leave and never come back." Joey turned on his heels walked away, leaving Yugi by himself. The words Joey had just begun to sink it. The bell rang, indicating that the next period was starting. Yugi was in pain, not just from his stomach but from the words Joey had just thrown at him. He didn't want to be late to History, though, so he found the strength to scoot forward towards his next classroom on his feet. _

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Yugi had shed his shirt and was now staring at himself in the full length mirror he kept braced against the wall of his room. There was a large, hand shaped bruise that covered the bottom of his chest down to the middle of his stomach. He poked at it and winced. It was tender and sore. He looked over at the backpack laying on his bed. It wasn't the one he took to school; that one was worn down and too small for what he would need it to do. He had bought this one a long time ago, but never used it. He felt to attached to the beige one. This one was black and many pockets. Inside it were clothes, an extra pair of shoes, and about fifty bucks; all the money he had saved up over the last few weeks. He had the note he was going to leave for his Grandfather already written out. He felt awful about bailing before dinner, but he felt this is what he had to do. If he had to see his Grandfather's face, he may not be able to go through with it.

There was a knock on his door, and Yugi panicked. He shoved the bag under his bed and ran over to his desk where he pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper and pretended to write on it. "Yeah?" He said, panting.

"Yugi?" His Grandfather called. Yugi felt his whole body tense. His Grandfather had no idea what was about to go on, what his grandson was thinking. What he had been thinking. What he was about to go through with. "Dinner's ready. I ordered a pizza."

'Damn!' Yugi thought. There was no way he could bail out now. He would have to wait until after dinner, which means he would have to face his Grandfather and talk with him, which is what Yugi wanted to avoid because if he had to look into his old man's eyes he was sure he wouldn't be able to go through with his plan.

He had to do this. He couldn't go back there. Back where everyone made fun of him, where they teased him and beat him up and threw his possessions into the water, and where no one thought of him as having feelings. Where they placed bets on who could beat him up the most in the shortest amount of time, or on how long it took until he started to cry, or how they circled around him, wanting him to fight back, angry at him for lying there and taking it.

_Be a man! Be a man! Be a man!_

He couldn't go back to that hell. But, he couldn't avoid his Grandfather now. "I'll be down in a minute, Grandpa." He called out, and at the thought of food his stomach rumbled. Yugi gripped it, realizing he hadn't eaten anything since this morning because someone had stolen his lunch money.

"Alright, I'll meet you downstairs in the kitchen." Yugi listened for the sound of Grandfather's footsteps getting quieter as he walked away. Sighing Yugi turned around and realized he was still not wearing a shirt. He slipped his white tee shirt back on and covered up with his blue blazer. He looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't know why, but he had a hard time taking his eyes away. His stomach rumbled again and Yugi turned around and exited his room, heading downstairs to have dinner.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Night had fallen over Domino. Yugi was eager to get a move on. Dinner with his Grandfather had been awkward for him. His Grandfather had no idea, and Yugi felt awful for leaving, but he just couldn't go back to that school, and he couldn't bother his Grandfather with his problems. But, in another sense, he was just giving everybody else exactly what they wanted. Nobody but his Grandfather wanted him. Everyone else, the kids at school, the teachers, random people. None of them cared about him, or thought anything of him.

_Just go away, Yugi. Leave and never come back._

The words of Joey Wheeler echoed inside his head, repeating constantly. Leave and never come back. Never come back. If all went well, Yugi would never have to come back.

He was waiting by his desk, watching the night sky. His black backpack was sitting comfortably on his shoulders. He sighed and reviewed the note he had written to Grandpa, the only family he had known for years. He felt tears prick at his eyes as he re-read it. He just knew it would tear up his Grandfather, but Yugi felt like he had no other choice. He had to do it now. Each second he was still in his home was too much. He climbed over his desk and opened the window. He couldn't go out the front door because of the store bell. It could wake up Grandpa.

Yugi carefully crawled out the window being careful with his footing. He felt the rawness of the shingles pull at his skin, but Yugi managed to crawl over to the large tree just to the right of his window. He pulled at the thick, sturdy branch, and crawled on that. It was a large tree and had no problem carrying his weight. He slowly maneuvered over the branch to the trunk of the tree which he gripped with his arms, wrapping them around the circumference. He slide down and once his feet touched the cool concrete, he breathed a sigh of relief. Pulling at the straps on his backpack, Yugi walked down the street, to the nearest bus stop. It was ten at night, his Grandfather was now asleep, most of the shops in town were closed, but the buses would still be running for another hour.

Yugi found one and sat down at the bench by himself. His stomach was sore and he was tired.

'I'll lay down. Just for a minute.' Yugi thought as he turned onto his side and closed his eyes.

It was the roaring of the bus engine that woke him up. He shot up, his vision blurry. It took him a second to remember what he was doing out here, but once he recollected, he jumped to his feet and boarded the bus. It was completely empty except for the bus driver who was eyeing him suspiciously. Yugi dug through his pockets and pulled out the loose change he had collected over the past few hours and used it to pay the bus fare.

"Ain't it a little late for you to be riding the bus, kid?" He asked.

"Yes, it is." Yugi admitted. "But, there is somewhere I need to be."

"And where might that be?"

Yugi sighed. "What's the farthest you can take me?"

The bus driver groaned and rubbed his eyes. "My bus don't go any farther than city limits. But, that'll get you to the Tokyo city line. That's as far as I go."

"That's perfect."


	2. Chapter 2

**A lot of response on the last chapter. Six reviews? That's the most I've ever gotten on one chapter!**

** Sage: Woopdi-doo. **

** Would it kill you to be a little more supportive? **

** Sage: No, but I just can't find it in me. Someone needs to make sure you don't get cocky.**

** *sigh* Okay, there are some references in this chapter to the season zero. If anyone is confused about this, just PM me and I will try to explain as best I can. **

** Sage: Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! OliviaGraham, Kairi, Deadpoolhulk, Mystery Agent, Sefina, and hoom! **

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Solomon Motou was not expecting things to be any different that morning. He woke up at precisely six-thirty as he did every day. He put on his gray shirt and green overalls and headed downstairs to the shop, where he began to make preparations for the day. He dusted the front desk, and check the cash register. He sighed when it opened up and he counted its contents. There wasn't even enough in there to pay for the weeks groceries. He put his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands. He didn't want to sell the shop; it was his pride and joy. He bought the building nearly twenty years ago, after his last archeological dig. He spent many, many joyous years selling games from all over the world to customers. He never thought he'd see a day where not one single customer came in. But, lately, that was almost every day. The videogame industry boomed, and suddenly, nobody wanted to play classic games.

His eyes glanced over the analog clock hanging right above the shop door. The small hand was on the seven, and the large one was placed gently over the five. Solomon straightened up. Seven-Twenty-Five? Was it that late already? He had been up for an hour now and hadn't seen Yugi. Normally his grandson was up right at seven, and left for school half an hour later. As far as Solomon could remember, Yugi never overslept on a school day. Wondering what could be going on, he left the counter and found his way to the back stair case that lead to the apartment part of the building. He walked over down to the end of the hallway where Yugi's room was stationed. He knocked on it gently.

"Yugi?" He called. He didn't get a response. He knocked again, this time harder. "Yugi, you have to wake up. It's time for you to go to school!" Still, he was met with only silence. Solomon became anxious and opened the door. Yugi's room was empty. Solomon looked over at his bed, nicely made. It hadn't been slept in. While looking over his sheets, Solomon felt a cold chill nip him at the back of his neck. He spun around and saw the open window. There was a piece of paper on Yugi's desk, moving softly with the breeze. Solomon picked it up and read over it.

It was written out in Yugi's handwriting, but it was a little sloppy, like it was written in haste.

Grandpa,

I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. I can't let myself be a burden to you

And to everyone around me. I'm sorry I never told you, but I didn't want to

Make my problems your problems, and I can't let other people fight my battles

For me. I had to leave. There was no other choice. Please, I hope you'll understand one day.

And I hope that one day I can come back. But for now, I did what I had to do.

I'm so sorry.

Yugi.

Solomon felt tears sting at the corner of his eyes. Yugi was gone? He had left? The old man felt his heart clench up inside his chest as he stepped backwards and fell onto Yugi's bed. The only question that rang inside his head was, why? Why had Yugi left? In the letter Yugi had said 'I should have told you.' What on earth was he talking about? Solomon sobbed at the thought that Yugi, his little boy, was having problems and was afraid to tell anyone. He covered his face with his hands and sobbed. He did the only thing he thought he could do. He searched through his pockets and pulled out a small, black flip-phone. His fingers were shaking, and his entire body was trembling in sorrow, but he managed to press the three necessary buttons and placed the phone up to his ear. He was shivering. He couldn't help but let his mind wander while the phone rang. Where was Yugi now? Was he in trouble? Where did he sleep? Did he have food, or money? Did-

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?" The voice of a female operator came through on the line.

Solomon felt his throat close up, but he manage to sputter out, "My grandson. He's-he's runaway!"

"Okay, sir. Can you tell me your name?"

"Solomon Motou." He spat out quickly. He could feel his jaw shaking violently, like he was having a mini seizure.

"Okay, sir. I need you to tell me what happened. When was the last time you saw your grandson?"

"Last night. At dinner."

"Okay, and did he seem to be experiencing some out-of-character behavior?"

"No, no! He-he was how he always is!" The tears were flooding down his face now.

"When did you notice he was gone?"

"J-just a few moments ago! He didn't get up for school, and I thought he might've overslept," in his grief Solomon spoke rapidly, tripping over his words, "I went to go wake him up, but he wasn't in his room, and his window was wide open, and his bed! His bed hadn't been slept in! He left me a note!"

"Okay, sir." The woman said. Her voice was oddly calm and relaxed, not seeming concerned, like either she didn't care, or she heard this kind of stuff every day and it no longer affected her. "I need you to give me your address and I'll send an officer over to you right away."

Solomon nodded, even though the operator couldn't see it. He rambled out his address, but it was too hasty and the woman on the other end had to ask him to repeat it, slower. Once he finally got it out, she replied, "Alright, Mr. Motou, an officer will be there in a few moments."

"Y-Yes. Th-thank you." He sputtered out before hanging up the phone. He was still in shock. Everything seemed so surreal.

"This-this has to be a dream!" He screamed. "Yugi would never leave!" He looked down at his wrists and used his right hand to pinch his left wrist. He could feel the slight, minute sense of pain and only cried more. He felt that. That meant this wasn't a dream! "W-why? Why Y-Yugi? Why w-would y-you leave?"

Out in the distance, he could hear the wailing of the police sirens and he stayed on Yugi's bed, crying, listening for the sound of the sirens coming closer and closer, trying to piece together why his grandson would run away. The note he left was completely vague, giving him no clues whatsoever as to what could have been tormenting Yugi to the point that he felt he had to leave. The sirens were now as loud as they could get, and Solomon could see the flashing blue and red lights outside Yugi's window. He heard the doorbell ring.

He found it himself to stand up and trudge down the stairs and into the shop where he opened the door.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Mr. Motou, can you please describe your grandson to me?" The officer asked. He was a young man, maybe in his earlier twenties with short black hair and dark chocolate eyes. He was sitting on the green couch in the family room with Solomon on the adjacent loveseat. The officer, Daisuke, held in his hands a brown clipboard, and in the other a pen, ready to start writing.

"He's sixteen, about five feet,-"

"Excuse me?" Officer Daisuke interrupted. "Did you say he was five feet tall? That's really short for his age."

"The Motou family has never been blessed with height, Officer." Solomon answered, annoyed. Why did it matter that Yugi was petite? It was part of who he was, and it would be a big description. They aren't many teenagers out there at his height.

"My apologies, sir. Let's continue now."

Solomon sighed and played with his hands which were folded in his lap. "His eyes are a purple color, and his hair, it isn't easily missed. It's bigger than he is." Solomon let out a small chuckle. He remembered back to when Yugi was just a baby and was having a hard time learning to walk because his hair made him so top heavy. "It's shaped like a star, and it's black, with a red outline and blonde bangs."

Officer Daisuke wrote down all the information he was receiving. "That is very unusual. Is it natural?"

"Oddly, yes. Why?"

"Well, it's not uncommon for runaways to change their appearance. You'd be surprised the lengths they go to conceal their identities. They'll get colored contacts, haircuts and dyes. Girls will usually wear high heels and long pants to cover up their shoes."

"But, it Yugi altered his appearance in anyway, how will we find him?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Motou," Officer Daisuke assured. "Kids, especially at his age, don't think things through well. If he does indeed try to change how he looks in an attempt not to be caught, it'll take him a few days, and we'll have the word out by then. His picture will be up in the fronts of stores and cashiers will recognize him."

Solomon sighed and rubbed his eyes, which were sore and red from crying. He still wanted to cry, he still wanted nothing more than to crawl back into his bed and weep for his lost child, but he had no tears left inside of him, and he knew that he couldn't just cry. Crying wouldn't bring his grandson back, action would.

"And," Officer Daisuke continued, "who knows? None of this might be necessary. Runaways often return home in a matter of days. Yugi could be home in time for dinner tonight." He gave a small smile, in an attempt to cheer up the older man. It was returned and Daisuke felt a slight tinge of guilt. He hadn't been entirely truthful. While some runaways return home, the majority don't. The majority get lost, and are forced into gangs and human trafficking in order to survive. While it is mostly girls who are pulled into the sex trafficking, many boys get into danger as well.

"Have you contacted his school?" He sputtered out, trying to get his mind off the topic. He hadn't been in the force long, only about two years, but he already seen the horrors of the human world.

Solomon shook his head. "N-no. I haven't even thought of it."

"He might've told someone at school, a friend maybe. If we can get the word out, someone might come forward with some information."

"Okay." Solomon sighed. "Yes, I should call his school. Someone must know something."

"It's worth a try. Now, I'll be working hard on this case. I promise you, I won't rest until Yugi is safe and at home. We'll find him, Mr. Motou, I promise."

"Thank you, Officer."

Daisuke frowned. He really hated lying, but he hated filling up people with false hope even more. Truthfully, they would probably find Yugi in a few days.

The real question was, would they find him alive?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Joey Wheeler was walking to school with his friend and partner in crime, Tristan Taylor. The brunette was an odd fellow. For someone part of the school beautification squad, he was a damn mean bully. Tristan often helped Joey out with his daily run, mostly tormenting Yugi Motou.

Joey walked casually, with his hands stuck in his pockets, staring at the ground.

"Hey, Joey!" Tristan called, trying to get his friend's attention. "I heard you gave Little Yugi quite the smack down yesterday!" He grinned devilishly. Joey smiled as he remembered what had happened yesterday. Tristan punched his shoulder playfully. "How'd it go?"

"It was hilarious." Joey said, looking up through his blonde hair. "The kid was crying before I even threw the first punch."

"Really? What the hell happened yesterday?"

"I was trying to be a good Samaritan; I was going to teach Motou how to be a man. He was playing with some toy yesterday at recess. A puzzle, I guess? Anyways, I took one of the pieces and threw it out the window, into the water around the school. He was bawling like a baby, going on about, 'My grandfather gave that to me!'." Joey spat on the ground in disgust at the memory. "I told him to stop crying, I told him to fight back and he refused! And you know what he told me when I asked him why'd he didn't do anything?"

Tristan shook his head and shrugged.

"He said, 'Violence doesn't solve anything.'. Can you believe that? It's like we're freaking kindergartens!"

"How much trouble did you get in?"

"What're you talking about?" Joey asked, looking up at Tristan quizzically.

"Well, I'm sure he told on you."

Joey snorted. "Nah. He never tells."

"Doesn't that strike you as odd?" Tristan asked.

"What do you mean?" Joey asked, enraged.

"Think about it. How long have we been picking on him?"

"Since fifth grade." Joey answered swiftly, and he stopped in his tracks for a second. Why did he remember that? How come it took no time at all for him to calculate that?

"Okay." Tristan said. "So, in five years, he has never told on us, or on anybody. He lets people bully him. He never fights back, he never tattles. Why do you think that is?"

"He's got some damn self-righteous attitude." Joey snorted.

Tristan shook his head, unconvinced. "Would a self-righteous person allow himself to be the scapegoat of the school for half a decade? Think about it. He has never told. Ever. Why?"

Joey thought about it was the Domino High School came into view. Tristan was right. Yugi never told anyone about his bullying. He never told on Joey, Tristan, on the other half dozen kids who picked on him and they all picked on him on a daily basis. It was strange that he never told _anyone. _It was strange that he _never_ fought back. It was strange that he a_llowed _himself to get beaten. None of it made sense at all.

"I don't know, Tristan." He felt a tinge of guilt, but it was quickly replaced be a sense of searing anger. "Why? You feelin' bad about all the hours you and me spent pushing him onto the wet floors?"

Tristan placed his hands up defensively. "No! No, of course not! But, I just can't help but think about it. I really, honestly wished I could've been there yesterday to help you out, but the beautification meeting ran long."

"Man!" Joey screamed, glaring at Tristan. "I can't believe I hang out with you! You know how bad it is for my image to be seen walking around with the captain of the future janitors squad?"

"Hey! At least I care about the appearance and cleanliness of our school!"

Joey snorted. "You wanna clean something? Come by my place after school!"

Tristan stopped, but Joey kept on walking. They were in the school courtyard now, along with the other six hundred members of Domino High School. It was hard to talk above the noise they were causing, but Tristan found his voice and somehow Joey heard it.

"How bad was he last night?"

Joey stopped and Tristan caught up with him. "He was already passed out when I got home."

"At four in the afternoon?"

"That ain't even close to his record."

"Joey," Tristan said with sincerity, "I've kept this secret because One: You've asked me too, and Two: It would break my heart to see CPS take you away, but you have to tell someone. He's getting worse and you know it."

"I don't need to tell anyone! I'm doing damn fine on my own!"

"Joey…"

"Just shut up! I don't want to talk about it!"

A loud bell silenced them all. Joey glared at Tristan. "I don't want to be late to homeroom." He turned around and walked towards the entrance of the school.

Tristan sighed and ran a worried hand through his hair. Joey was fuming. Tristan couldn't remember the last time he had seen him this made and upset. But, he couldn't worry about it now. He had to be in class before the attendance count; if he was marked tardy, that could destroy his school record, and he could be suspended from any more of his beautification meetings! Tristan ran inside the school and went down the necessary hallways to his homeroom, the one he shared with Joey. The tardy bell hadn't rung yet and kids were running around the room, throwing ballad up wads of paper at one another.

Tristan scanned the roomed and spotted Joey sitting at the desk in the back corner, with his head on top, his arms covering it. Tristan ran over to his friend, getting hit in the head with a paper ball. It landed on the floor at his feet. Tristan clenched his teeth and picked up the litter he turned to the person who threw it and glared.

"You dare to dirty our school with filth like this?" He clenched the paper in his hand. "Next time, aim your toss at the recycle bin!" He threw the paper back at the kid and finished his journey over to Joey. He took the seat next to his friend and leaned into him.

"Hey, man," Tristan said in a low tone. He didn't want to risk anyone overhearing this conversation. It was none of their business what Joey's life outside of school was. "I'm sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have brought it up."

Joey sighed and pulled his head up. He turned to look over at his friend, but remained silent. Tristan chewed on the inside of his cheek.

The tardy bell rang and the teacher ran inside the room, his arms full of books. The students scrambled to their seats, doing their best to pick up the mess they had just made as to avoid receiving a detention. The teacher sat at his desk and without looking up gave his directions to the class. "Talk quietly amongst yourselves, or work on homework for another class!"

Now with the background noise filling the empty space in the room, Tristan leaned in closer to Joey. "Joey, please. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Tristan." Joey mumbled. "It ain't your fault."

"It's not your fault either." Tristan assured. He reached over and patted Joey on the shoulder and smiled. "If you ever need a place to crash, remember, you're always welcome at my place."

Joey returned the smile and nodded. "Thanks, man. You're a good friend."

Tristan shrugged and raised his hands in a playful manner. "Hey, it's what I do."

Joey scoffed and rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to retort, but he was silenced by the sound of the PA system beeping. Everyone in the room became silent as they listened closely for the announcement.

_Attention, students. _The voice of their principal came through. _I have just received a call that one of your fellow students, Yugi Motou, has run away from his home last night. _

Joey froze up. The students looked around and began to chatter indistinctly about what was just said. Joey felt something in his chest clench up. Had he heard that right?

_If you have any information about where he may be, or when he might have left, please come to the officer with what you know. Thank you._

There was a click indicating that the principal had hung up. Joey felt lightheaded and suddenly nauseous. The memory of yesterday quickly played over his mind, including the end part of what he had last said to Yugi. Leave and never come back.

He had said that. And apparently, Yugi had listened.

"Joey? You okay, bud? You're looking kind of green…"

Joey ignored Tristan and stood up, listening to the gossip of what people were saying about Yugi.

"It's about time he left."

"You think he's dead already?"

"Shows how much of a coward he is."

"Now whose lunch money are we gonna steal?"

Hearing all of these conversations, about a kid who had been bullied all his school life, about a kid who never fought back, or told anyone made Joey feel sick. It wasn't until now, at this very moment, that Joey felt sorry for this kid. He didn't know this kid. He didn't think anyone did. It didn't seem like he had any friends. Joey saw him every day at lunch sitting by himself under an old oak tree. It was like the last five years flashed before his eyes all in one second.

He saw himself shoving Yugi into mud. He saw himself throwing sticks and stones at Yugi, after he had said, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.' He wanted to test that theory. He picked up all the nearby sticks and rocks he could find and threw them at Yugi. He saw himself slamming Yugi into lockers. He saw himself pick-pocketing Yugi, stealing all the lunch money he had for that week. He saw himself being a monster to this kid he didn't know. He saw himself beating Yugi up because he refused to fight back. He remembered telling him to leave and never come back.

"Seriously, Joey. Are you okay?"

Joey ignored him and raised his hand. His stomach was paining him. "Sensei? May I use the restroom?"

The teacher didn't look up, but quickly muttered, "You may, Joseph. Take a hall pass with you."

Joey ran to the front of the room and grabbed the pass of the teacher's desk. He ran down the hall and into the restroom. He ran into the nearest stall and got on his knees. He began to vomit.

He vomited until he had emptied his stomach's contents and his eyes were red. He couldn't believe it. Yugi had run away. He hadn't meant those words. They were spoken merely out of anger. But, Yugi took him seriously and he left. He left his home in the middle of the night because of some stupid words Joey had said of anger and frustration.

There was a rap on his stall door. "Joey?" Came Tristan's voice. "Are you okay? You ran out the room so fast, I didn't know what to think."

Joey breathed deep, shallow breaths. He wiped the bile of his chin with his sleeve and flushed the toilet. He shakily stood up and undid the latch on the stall door. He opened it and met with Tristan.

"Dude, you look like hell!" Tristan commented. Joey leaned against the stall and continued to breathe as he had.

"What..are they saying…about him?" He said quietly and hoarsely. His throat was burning and he needed a few moments to compose himself.

"About who?"

Joey hesitated for a moment. He met Tristan in the eye. "Yugi."

Tristan scratched the back of his head. "Not nice things."

"Like what?"

"Some people are saying it's about time. Others are placing bets on whether or not he's dead, or has been kidnapped and locked in some pervert's basement." Tristan looked down for a moment, but then his head shot back up and his eyebrows were scrunched as he stared down at his friend. "Why do you care? You've never cared about him before."

Joey breathed heavily a few times. "I think he may have left because of me."

Tristan scoffed and rolled his eyes. "What have you been smoking? Why are on Earth would Yugi running away be your fault? How are you involved in anyway?"

Joey was ashamed and his eyes cast down. "I told him to leave."

Tristan stepped back. "W-what?"

Joey looked up, tears were in his eyes. "I told him to leave! Yesterday, I told him to leave and never come back! It's all my fault, Tristan! All my fault! If he's dead, I'm the one to blame! If he is locked in some pervert's basement, I'm the one to blame! He left because I told him no one wanted him! I told him we'd all be happier if he left! It's all my fault!" He slid down the stall and landed on the tile of the bathroom floor.

"Oh, man." Tristan said, getting down to Joey's level. He placed a comforting hand on Joey's shoulder and gripped it tightly.

"I have to." He heard Joey mutter.

"You have to what, Joey?"

"I have to find him, Tristan. I have to."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the delay in the update, but I'm afraid it's going to be like that for this story.**

** Sage: We start school tomorrow which means little time for writing.**

** I'm afraid I'm going to have to put this story on hiatus for a few weeks. I'll work on the story, get ahead with my chapters, but there aren't going to be any updates for a few weeks. I'm sorry. **

** Sage: On that note, we'd like to thank, **Kairi, Iozfan1000, Mystery Agent, hoom, OliviaGraham, deadpoolhulk, **and **Phantom Brat **for reviewing last chapter. We really appreciate your comments!**

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Yugi was woken up by the sound of a roaring engine. He wasn't quite aware of what was happening and he got to his feet and let out a small yelp. He opened his eyes and saw the bus idling before him. Yugi was breathing in fast, shallow breaths. He turned around and saw the bench he had spent the night on. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, making Yugi estimate the time to be somewhere around six-thirty in the morning. The memories from the night before began to emerge. Yugi remembered getting onto the bus and sitting down in one of the green seats. The bus driver would occasionally look back at him through the rear view mirror, raising a suspicious eyebrow, but he never said a word. Once he got to the Tokyo city line, and Yugi got up to exit the bus, he stared at the steering wheel and opened the door. Yugi was down the first step when the bus driver stopped him.

"Are you okay, kid?" He asked. Yugi froze. His voice was sincere. It sounded so foreign to Yugi's ears. He was used to only hearing that tone of voice from his grandfather. Everyone else, even the teachers at school, addressed with him with either sarcasm or annoyance. For a moment, Yugi began to second-guess his decision. He turned around to face the driver. He could feel the sting of tears that were about to come. He thought of what would happen to when his grandfather noticed his absence. He wondered how his grandfather would react, and how much it would harm him. Yugi felt guilt pull at his heart strings. Had he made a mistake? Yugi felt so. He wanted to break down and beg the man to take him home when a voice entered his head.

_Leave and never come back. _

Yugi sniffed. Joey Wheeler had said that. The boy who had tormented Yugi every school day for five years. Sometimes Joey even found him over summer break and would bully, berate, abuse, and humiliate him them. Joey had a way of making things public; he enjoyed having a crowd around to watch. Sometimes Joey had his friend, Tristan Taylor, help out. The brunette teen had more of a bite than a bark. Yugi couldn't recall a time when Tristan had spoken directly to him; he mostly just spoke to Joey. Today they had crossed the line. Joey had not only beat and embarrassed Yugi, but he had also stolen a piece of the Millennium Puzzle, a gift his grandfather had given him, and he threw it away like it was nothing more than common garbage. Even if it meant having to leave his grandfather, Yugi couldn't go back to Domino. He couldn't go back to that school, back to his tormentors. But, he couldn't tell his grandfather about the daily problems he faced either because this was his problem, not his grandfather's.

Yugi looked up to the bus driver and held back his tears. "I'm perfectly fine." He lied, nodding his head for effect. "I just need to see a friend here."

The driver didn't seem convinced but he didn't push the subject further. "If you say so. Have a nice night.'"

"You too." Yugi stepped off the bus and watched it leave. He was so tired, he didn't even think. He just lay down on the bench at the bus stop he was at and allowed sleep to overcome him.

The bus that was in front of him now was driving out of sight, leaving Yugi alone. Sighing, Yugi tightened up on the straps of his backpack and began to walk forward, right into the city of Tokyo. He winched with each step he took as his torso ached. The area was still tender and he didn't want to prod it, delaying the healing process.

He looked around the city. It was much bigger than Domino. People in suits were walking down the streets. The tall buildings were ominous in their size, looming over Yugi, blocking out the light of the rising sun. Even though it was still early, the streets were full of traffic, and the sidewalks held more people on them than Yugi thought they could fit. The air was full of a variety of noises; horns honking, people swearing, business men talking with possible clients on their cell phones, the minute beeping noise of the automatic doors on a building opening. It was full of different sorts of stimulation. Yugi was beginning to become uneasy. He had never been in an environment like this. Scared and stressed, he stopped in his tracks and began to take it all in.

He was unable to do that, however. One large man in a suit shoved Yugi off to the side with a grunt. Yugi tumbled a little, but quickly regained his balance. It wasn't anything he wasn't used too. But he still remained frozen as people pushed their way past him, glaring at him, shouting profanities at him.

"Beat it, kid!"

"Out of the way!"

"Shouldn't you be in school?" One woman asked, then turned her head and muttered. "Idiot dropout."

Yugi felt a large lump form in his throat. He wanted to run, but he didn't have anywhere to run too. Unlike back in Domino, he couldn't lock himself in his room to escape his problems. Yugi sniffed and clenched his eyes shut. He didn't have anything. He didn't have a warm place to sleep at night, he didn't have his Grandfather's loving voice, encouraging him, he didn't have a belly full of food. Tears began to cascade down his face and before he knew it his legs were running. He didn't know why. He was in a strange city, a place he had never even researched, let alone been to before.

He opened his eyes wide enough to see that he was coming to a crosswalk. He skidded to a stop, and turned right on his heels, turning the corner. He opened his eyes and saw that he was in an alley way. It was away from the people of Tokyo and it was quiet. Not even the sound of rats scurrying around could be heard. Yugi back up against the brick wall and skidded down onto his bottom. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around and placed his head onto his legs. He cried. He cried softly until he had nothing left. It had to have been at least an hour, but Yugi didn't have any sense of time.

When he pulled his head up, he thrust his hands into his pocket and pulled a folded piece of paper. He quickly undid the folds and looked down at the picture in his hands, and even though his eyes were red and he thought he didn't have anything left in him to cry, he managed to force a few more tears to escape through his eyes.

The picture had a man and a woman; the woman was cradling a baby. She was short, like the man. Both couldn't have been much taller than five foot four. She had dark black hair and sparking green eyes. She was smiling, and her teeth were so white, Yugi swore he saw a glare on them from the camera. The man was standing proud, with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. He had blondish-red hair that stood up at odd angels. He was looking down at the baby in his wife's arms.

Yugi sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve. He turned the picture over and in his Grandfather's handwriting, in blue ink, was written: Ishomi and Mikuku and Yugi; four months old.

Yugi remembered his parents vaguely. He was young when they left; only about six years old. It may have been over a decade ago, but he still remembered that day, the day when they left, perfectly. You don't forget things like that.

-10 Years Ago-

Yugi was at his Grandfather's house again. His parents were out ; he didn't know what they were doing, but they always left him with Grandpa when they 'went out', which seemed to be often. Yugi didn't like it when they went out. His parents acted strange whenever they came back, like they didn't know what was going on, and then they would go to sleep and once they woke up they always complained about having a headache. But, Yugi had ways of occupying himself when he was at his Grandfather's, because the older man needed to keep an eye on the Game Shop he ran. He was on his knees, playing with a toy truck in the living room

"Vroom, vroom." He said as he pushed the yellow dump truck back and forth on the green shag carpet. Inside the back part of the truck were a dozen green army men, the plastic toys were rubbing against one another, causing the paint to chip. The truck hit the edge of the coffee table, knocking a few of the army men to fall out.

"Oh, no!" The six-year old Yugi cried. "Man down!" He went down to collect the fallen soldiers when he heard his Grandfather's angry voice from the other room.

"What do you mean you're not coming back?" He shouted.

Yugi cringed. He had never heard his Grandfather shout before. It was a new experience for him and it frightened Yugi. Shakily he stood to his feet and walked over to the door. He stood in the door way and peered around the corner. He could see his Grandpa standing at the counter, talking on the phone. He was scowling, and his face was flushed a deep scarlet.

"He's your son for God's sake!" Solomon yelled, his hand tightening its grip onto the phone. "You can't just leave him!"

Yugi gasped and quickly brought a hand to cover his mouth. He didn't want his Grandfather to know he was listening in on him. He could tell from the words his Grandfather was saying that he was talking to his parents. Yugi crouched down onto the floor. He didn't like the way Grandpa was talking to his parents, but, he wanted to know what they were saying that was making Grandpa so angry. Yugi's eyes wandered and landed on the phone in the living room. He knew that it was wrong to eavesdrop, but his curiosity was getting the best of him.

He walked over to the coffee table and picked up the phone of the coffee table, quickly covering the mouth piece, so no one could hear him breathing, so no one would know he was eavesdropping.

"Listen, Dad," Yugi recognized the voice of his father, speaking to his Grandfather. "Mikuku and I, we just handle the stress of raising of a kid. Especially one like Yugi."

"What do you mean, 'one like Yugi'?" His Grandfather snapped.

"You know, when I learned I was going to have a son, I imagined having one to play catch with, and one that would eventually join his high school football team. I imagined he would be tall and muscular. We both know that Yugi isn't going to accomplish any of those things. All he wants to do is play board games! Or with his stupid army men!"

Yugi's eyes guilty fell to the toy dump truck lying on the carpet, full of the army men his father was speaking of.

"What's wrong with that?" His Grandfather said. "Yugi may not the most athletic boy, but he's kind and smart! Isn't that good enough?"

"That may be good for you, but not for me. When he gets older, I won't be able to brag about him to my boss and co-workers! Besides, Mikuku and I can't go out and party with a kid."

"It's called being a parent! You can't abandon him! He needs his parents!"

Yugi's father scoffed. "What a clichéd thing to say. Mikuku and I are not coming back. Ever."

Solomon growled. "I'll call Child Protective Services on you! I'll report you to the police!"

Ishomi chuckled darkly and it sent a shiver down Yugi's spine. He had never heard any kind of sound like that from his father. "We both know you wouldn't do that." He dared. "You call CPS, they take Yugi away. They'll place him in a foster home; you'll never see him again."

"I'll file for custody! After all, I've been more of a parent to him than you and Mikuku these last two years! How many times have you dropped him off with me so you too can get drunk? How many times have I baby sat him because you and Mikuku are to hung over to do it? How many times have I had to lie to him when he asks why he's spending the night with me? Again? How am I supposed to tell him his parents aren't coming back?"

"Not my problem, old man."

"He's your son! It is your problem!"

Ishomi went quiet for a moment. Yugi was struggling very hard not to cry, not to give away that he was listening in. He couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. His daddy didn't want him anymore? His daddy didn't love him? His mommy didn't love him? Yugi fell himself fall to the floor by the coffee table. He heard an angry sigh coming from his father.

"He's not my son anymore." And the line went dead.

"What?" He could hear his Grandfather scream. He had yet to realize that Yugi's father had hung up. "Ishomi! Ishomi!" Realizing his son had hung up; Solomon slammed the phone back onto the receiver.

Yugi was beyond hysteria. He couldn't believe his father had said that, and then have him just hang up like that. He was so upset, so in disbelief, he didn't even bother hanging up the phone, and the dial tone echoed throughout the living room.

Grandpa must have heard him crying because he called out, "Yugi?" His voice was calmer, but Yugi could still hear some of the anger in it. He knew that Grandpa was only angry at his daddy though. "Yugi?" Grandpa came into the living room. His eyes were glazed over, as though he was crying too.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" He asked, walking over to his grandson. "Did you hurt yourself?"

Yugi couldn't speak; he just shook his head and sobbed as a six year old will.

Grandpa got to his knees, down to Yugi's level. "Did you break your toy?"

Yugi shook his head again.

Solomon sighed, frustrated. Then, he heard it. The dial tone. He looked down and saw the phone in Yugi's hands. His heart dropped further into his stomach. Yugi had heard the conversation?

"Oh, Yugi." Solomon sighed. "You heard me and your dad on the phone didn't you?"

Yugi nodded, more tears falling down his face.

"Oh, Yugi." Solomon pulled Yugi into a hug and rubbed his back.

"D-daddy and m-mommy aren't-aren't c-coming back, a-are they?" Yugi said through his tears.

"I'm afraid so." Solomon whispered. He still couldn't believe that Yugi had listened on the conversation. He thought it was bad enough that he was going to have to tell Yugi his parents weren't ever coming back, but finding out that Yugi had heard nearly every word of the conversation made it even worse. How do explain something like that to a child, after every word that was exchanged between Solomon and his son? How do you explain to a child that his parents didn't love him, that they thought of him as only an inconvenience? Solomon couldn't understand how they could think this way. Yugi was the sweetest, most lovable boy he knew. How could you not love him?

"Was…was it s-something I did?" He asked, burrowing his face into his Grandfather's overalls.

"No, Yugi! No. Never think that!" Solomon was angry that Yugi felt this way, that his father made him feel this way. It wasn't right for a child, especially one Yugi's age, to think such thoughts.

"But, daddy said—"

"Forget what your father said. He's a moron for not wanting to be a part of your life."

"Does he hate me?"

Solomon swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He pulled his grandson closer to him, began to rub his back harder, more vigorously. How on Earth was he supposed to explain this?

"Grandpa…" Yugi whined, clutching to the elder man's overalls. "Does daddy hate me?" He repeated.

Solomon breathed in deep. "I don't know Yugi. I really don't know."

Yugi began to cry harder.

-0-0-0-0-

The memories bombarded Yugi. He remembered every detail about that day. He remembered his parents dropping him off at his Grandfather's, netheir of them would look him in the eyes, or speak to him. His mother wouldn't give him a good-bye kiss. He remembered after hearing the phone call, his Grandfather tried to get him to eat something, but Yugi couldn't.

His Grandfather wouldn't eat either, but he wouldn't say anything. He tucked Yugi in at his normal bedtime, but the young boy couldn't sleep. He stayed up all night crying silent tears.

The memories were to hard for Yugi to handle. He slung the backpack off his shoulders and dug through it. He laid the picture of his parents-the only one he had- down. He shoved his hand past the piles of clothes, the extra pair of shoes, all the way to the bottom where he grabbed the small box. He pulled it out and opened it. The pieces of the Millennium Puzzle shined in his eyes. He began to pick up pieces and tried putting them together. For some reason, he always worked better on it when he was upset. It gave him something to preoccupy his mind with.

Yugi brought the Millennium Puzzle with him to have something to remember home by. The picture of his parents only brought back bad memories, but he brought it with him anyways. He still loved his parents, even though they abandoned him, and he wanted to remember them. His Grandfather got rid of every picture he had of them, and Yugi only barely managed to save the one he had before it got thrown into the furnace. He doubt his Grandfather even knew he had it.

_Click. _

He got two pieces to fit in together. His heart rose a little bit as he held the Millennium Puzzle in his hands, closer to being complete than ever before. Yugi wanted to work on it, even though he knew it would never be completed. He had worked so hard on it that it felt wrong to give up just because one piece was missing. It would never be complete, but at least Yugi could say he did his very best and almost got it done.

His stomach growled and Yugi clutched it. He hadn't eaten since the night before, and even though he had some money to buy food, he didn't want to use it all at once. He sighed and placed the puzzle back in the box and into his backpack.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Joey!" Tristan called, running after his friend in the hallway. School had let out for the day, and his friend had not said a single word since the bathroom. Joey had angrily listened to all the hateful words everyone was speaking about Yugi. Tristan had watched Joey from a distance, noting how aggravated he got. His fists were clinched and he would clamped his eyes shut. Tristan still didn't understand why Joey felt guilty; the two of them had never thought anything about Yugi.

Tristan ran faster, following Joey out of the school and down the pathway to his house. "Joey!" He yelled, grabbing onto the blonde's shoulder. Joey stopped. "Joey," Tristan said, panting. "Why do you care?" He asked.

Joey breathed deeply. He turned around to face his friend. Tristan gasped quietly. Joey's eyes were red; he had been crying. "Exactly." Joey whispered, his voice was broken. "Why do I care?" He said in a mocking way. "I've never cared about Yugi Motou before. Nobody has. Nobody has ever thought that maybe, just maybe, Yugi Motou has feelings. Because nobody cared. Why? Why has nobody ever cared before, Tristan?"

"I-I don't know, Joey." Tristan stuttered, unsure of how to answer. He had never heard Joey speak like this before.

"I told him to leave. And he listened." Joey was laughing in his hysteria. "He freaking listened. Or, maybe he finally just couldn't take it anymore and he left, and what I said was purely coincidental, but he still left because of me!"

"You weren't the only one to push him around some, Joe." Tristan tried to explain.

"Yeah, I know. You were there with me all throughout middle school, tormenting him, Ushio and his gang weren't as bad as us, and they still managed to make his life even more of a living Hell with us added into it!"

"Joey, you can't blame yourself!"

"Why not? It's my fault! I have to find him! I have to make things better!"

"How do you plan on finding him, Joey? We don't even know where he lives!"

Joey paused, taking in what Tristan had said. He was right; Joey didn't have any idea where Yugi lived, or how he was going to find out. He knew nothing about Yugi. Joey realized he couldn't even name one thing about Yugi's life. He knew the boy liked games, but then again you didn't have to speak to him to know that. He was always bringing in a new game he had to play with while everyone else was at recess.

But, he was also angry. Tristan, who participated in many of Joey's beatings against Yugi, was acting like a little angel, like he was innocent. Joey was angry because Tristan didn't understand how guilty he felt. Tristan didn't understand why Joey felt so compelled to find Yugi. And Joey didn't understand that either. But, after having to listen all day to the horrible things people were saying about Yugi, people who didn't even know the kid, something inside him snapped. And here was Tristan, acting like he was all high and mighty, and that it wasn't their problem.

"No, we don't." Joey said. "But, he's not home, is he? We can search the city. There can't be many places he could've gotten to this quickly. And, he had to have slept somewhere which means he couldn't have gotten far."

"If that were the case, don't you think the police would've found him already?"

Joey shrugged. "The kid likes games, and he's short and quiet. That should make him a master at hide-and-seek."

Tristan shook his head. "I don't think this is just a game to him. He wanted to leave. He's not going to wait for someone to find him, he's going to try his hardest not to be found."

"Well, we have to start somewhere." Joey turned around and began to walk forward, his head was scanning the area around him.

"Joey!" Tristan yelled, going to catch up with his friend. "Joey, please. Just let the police do their work. This isn't our problem to meddle with."

"Tristan, why don't you understand? I have been a giant bastard to him for no reason. It took him running away for me to realize this. And it wasn't just us! It wasn't just Ushio. It was every kid who complained about being partnered up with him. It was every girl who refused to talk to him. It was all the teachers who treated him like a little kid, who no respect. I know at this point, sorry won't mean a damn thing, but," Joey stopped for a moment and sighed, "at least if I find him I can feel that I did something."

"You don't want to find him because you feel bad about the bullying." Tristan accused bitterly. "You just want to ease your guilt." He huffed and turned around. "Do what you want, but I'm not helping you. This is a job for the police." He walked away leaving Joey by himself to his thoughts, still digesting what Tristan had said.

Was he just trying to get rid of his guilt? Joey sighed. He didn't know. He really, didn't know.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the delay of this chapter…school's been a real bee-otch. **

** Sage: This chapter is kind of a filler-wait, no-it is a filler, but it's important to the story. You'll realize that once it comes closer to ending.**

** Yes, and though I hate to say it, the next chapter is going to be delayed too. I hope to have it out in a few weeks, but I can't make any promises. **

** Sage: Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter. We really appreciate it your comments! **

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Officer Daisuke sighed as he threw the manila file folder down on the desk in front of him. He sat himself down in the black swivel chair and pulled it up to the desk, resting his head in his hands, placing his elbows on the beige desk. He stared at the folder for a moment. It had a stamp on the front, written in large red letter labeled 'CASE FILE'. It was the file he had begun for his case on the runaway, Yugi Motou and it was currently empty. He had collected no evidence while investigating the Motou household that could lead to the boy's whereabouts. All he had was an open window, and a made-up bed. He had some sort of time-frame. Solomon Motou said Yugi went up to his room at around nine last night and that was the last he saw of him.

If that were true, that meant Yugi had to have left somewhere between nine last night, and seven that morning. He had at least a good few hours lead in his trip to whatever destination he was headed towards. He could've left the city a long time ago. Hell, he could've snuck onto a cargo ship and be half-way around the World by now. Daisuke sighed again, gaining the attention of one of his co-workers.

"No luck, Daisuke?" She said with sympathy. She gave him a small smile and walked up towards his desk.

Daisuke groaned and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face with his hands. "It's like the kid just disappeared out of nowhere. There was nothing in his room. Not a map, nothing out of place, other than some missing clothes. It looks more like an alien abduction that a runaway case."

The female officer, Sashimi, sighed. "I'm sorry, Daisuke. But, you never know," she said, trying to cheer up her fellow officer, "most runaways return home themselves."

Daisuke scoffed. "This is different. I just know it. The grandfather was stubborn, and if genetics had anything to do with it, so is Yugi. Besides, there still is the question of why he left. Kids don't just decide to runaway one day, for no reason. He either was running away from something, or to something."

"Maybe he eloped with his girlfriend." Sashimi joked.

Daisuke wanted to slap the girl. She was a rookie, and didn't deserve to be working with him. "Do a background check on Solomon Motou." Daisuke growled, not enjoying how the girl was making fun of the situation. This was a serious business. He knew that kids who ran away were in danger of getting killed or kidnapped. Making jokes about it was not acceptable. If Solomon Motou was hiding something, if he knew more than he was letting on, Daisuke wanted to know now.

"The grandfather?" The female officer questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You think he abused Yugi? I'm sorry, Daisuke, but that theory doesn't make sense. Yugi may not be that big, but surely he could take his own grandfather!"

"I never hinted that the abuse was physical, Sashimi!" Daisuke snapped. "There are many different kinds of abuse: mental, emotional. And just because he could take an old man doesn't mean he would. Maybe he's too kind to push down an old man who's beating him. The point is, Yugi left for a reason. I don't think it was to get attention. Now do what I asked you!"

Sashimi back away, realizing that her co-worker was not in the mood for chit-chat. She bowed her head and muttered and apology before turning around and walking towards her desk.

"And while you're at it," Daisuke added, "put this kid on a suicide watch. Labeled him endangered."

Sashimi looked up from her computer, her eyebrows were scrunched up, as though she had just smelled something awful. "You really think this kid ran away to kill himself?"

"Happens all the time."

"Why?" She questioned. "If someone is going to kill themselves, why do they need to run away to do it?"

"Hell if I know." Daisuke said, his voice was void of any emotion. "God only knows what goes through these kids heads."

"If that is why he ran away, then he's probably already dead." Sashimi said as she typed.

"True." Daisuke said. "And if not, then he's probably going to get killed away from his home. Either way, he's dead." He concluded.

"Here we go."" Sashimi said, pulling up the information she had pulled up on Solomon Motou. "There's not much here." She commented, and began to read aloud, "'Solomon Motou, born October 4, 1940. He used to be an archeologist until about eighteen years ago when he opened the Game Shop.'" She looked up at her boss. "That's all there is."

"No criminal record?"

"None. No high school records, traffic tickets, it's," she paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to verbalize what she wanted to say, "it's practically blank!" She sighed and placed her head on her desk for a moment. After a few seconds of thinking, she shot up and looked over at her boss, feeling like a moron. How had she not thought of that sooner? "What about his parents? What information did you get on them?"

"As far as I know, he doesn't have any. It was just the grandfather when I went there. The old man didn't mention them, and I felt it wise I do the same."

"Well, what should we do then? We don't have anything that could help us find Yugi."

"It appears so." Daisuke sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "Why don't you go out to lunch? We can figure out some more stuff later."

"Alright, I guess." Sashimi said hesitantly. She stood up and grabbed her purse. She walked towards the doorway and stopped, looking over her shoulder. "You coming?"

"I think I'm going to pass. I have my lunch here," He motioned to a small lunch box by his feet. "You go ahead."

"Okay." She exited the building, and Daisuke groaned. He picked up the almost-empty case file and let his mind wander, to think about it. If this kid felt that he had to run away to off himself, then he had probably already done it, which meant sending out a dozen police cars to find him was a waste of time and resources. They didn't have anything on the grandfather to suggest he was abusive towards Yugi, so they still had no leads as to why he ran away in the first place. Daisuke doubted the kid knew how to survive in a concrete jungle; if suicide didn't get the kid, then the city would and it would do it soon. So, as he had said before, the kid was dead either way.

Considering these events, Daisuke felt this case would be just a waste of everyone's time. If the kid did manage to survive, then he would most likely would return home in a few days, which would once again reinforce the concept that it would be a waste of everyone's time and resources to try and track down the kid. Daisuke spun around in his computer chair and opened the middle drawer of the filing cabinet behind him. He stuck the folder behind the 'M' tab and slammed it shut. He stared at it for a while. After a few seconds, he had to turn away. He couldn't look at the drawer he had just put the folder in.

He couldn't look at the drawer labeled 'Cold Case'.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Solomon Motou didn't know what to do or think. His grandson had disappeared almost an entire day ago and he had yet to hear back from the police. The elderly man laid on his bed, on his right side, with his knees drawn to his chest and his hands underneath his pillow. Dried tears stained his cheeks, and the whites of his eyes were dyed a red color. His clothes were wrinkled; he was still wearing the ones he had put on the day Yugi had run away. His stomach growled, but the elder man remained unfazed. He had been listening to it for hours, barely eating anything since the police man had left, since he had discovered his grandson's empty bedroom. Solomon hadn't heard anything from the officer since he left, which only worsened his depression. He felt like they weren't doing anything to find Yugi; he thought that they weren't taking him seriously. They thought Yugi would return on his own in a few days, and while that was a possibility, Solomon found it very unlikely. Yugi was stubborn. Once he had set his mind to something, there was no changing it. He sighed and prayed silently to any deity that may have been listening.

'Please,' even the voice inside his mind was broken, 'let him be safe. Let him be well. Let him come home.'

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Yugi opened his eyes slowly, letting the alley come into focus. His backpack was resting on his chest, the weight of the puzzle was pressing against his skin. Yugi's thoughts ran to the puzzle. He worked best on it when he was upset; somehow it made his concentration better and it cheered him up. Sometimes he could swear that he heard a voice calling to him, pleading to him to continue his work, especially on the days when Yugi was most convinced of giving up.

Sometimes Yugi questioned his own sanity, but he really couldn't help but feel there was more to the Millennium Puzzle then the fact that it was just from Egypt. There was a deeper history behind it that he couldn't yet decipher. He hoped one day he would know all about that history.

His stomach growled and Yugi clutched it, wincing. The pain of hunger was tearing at him. Yugi was used to pain, but this one was different. This one was intentional. Yugi knew he had to eat. He placed the puzzle back inside his backpack and pulled out some of his money, pocketing it. He stood and hung the backpack loosely over one shoulder. He glanced briefly out the alley, to the direction the ambulance had gone. He sucked in a mouthful of air and bit his lip. He didn't like ambulances. They reminded him of hospitals, and foreshadowed death. His stomach growled again and Yugi refocused his mind back to the matter at hand. His legs were wobbly, but he managed to stagger out of the alley way, back onto the busy streets of Tokyo. He was swept up by the rush hour crowd, no one even noticed him coming out of the alley. Yugi found himself crushed between a group of workers, each dressed in navy blue suits, event he women. They were carrying brief cases, marching life troops off to war. They carried him off, and Yugi found himself immobile. He couldn't move. The people to his left and right were at his shoulders.

When Yugi saw that they were passing by buildings, he struggled to break free. He wiggled his entire upper body and managed to slip from the grasp of the people. He landed on the dirty Tokyo floor, surrounded by the feet of the average Tokyo citizen. People were stepping over him, no one offering him any assistance. Yugi army crawled his way to the nearby door, doing his best to avoid being trampled. Once he got to the door, there was a small space where no one was walking from him to stand. He shook his entire body, still fazed by what had just happened. He didn't have time to worry too much about it, though. He was okay. A little dirty, but that was the worst of it.

Yugi pressed against the glass doors of the building and entered. He was in some kind of coffee shop. It had a yellow-cream walling, with milk chocolate tiles. About a dozen round tables littered the entire shop. It was a small area, only about one hundred square feet. It wasn't very busy either, which Yugi thought was odd. His stomach growled again and Yugi clutched it consciously. He looked up and walked to the counter where a young-college aged student was at, watching disinterestly at the television that hung above her head. A male anchor was reporting a story about a fire in Kyoto.

"Excuse me?" Yugi said quietly, trying to get her attention. She turned to face him, blowing a bubble with her gum.

"You want to order something?" She said in a tone that revealed she was slightly annoyed.

"Uh, yes." Yugi said, his eyes going to the large menu that hung above the counter. There were a lot of choices and he didn't want to waste this woman's time by reading the entire thing. "A coffee and a muffin."

She began to pound buttons on the cash register. "What kind of muffin?"

"Uh, blueberry?"

"That'll be three-fifty."

Yugi dug into his pocket and pulled out a five-dollar bill, handing it over. She opened the register and gave Yugi the necessary change. She then went into the kitchen and came out with a large, steaming cup of coffee and a medium blue berry muffin.

"Here you go, kid." She said, handing them off. Yugi nodded is thanks and walked over to a vacant table, sitting down. He pulled off a bite of muffin and chewed on it, satisfying his stomach's roar. He took a sip of his coffee. It warmed him up, making the goose bumps he had collected over the previous night go away. He sighed as he watched the brown liquid swirl. Yugi frowned. There was some vanilla in this coffee. He didn't order that. The cashier had made a mistake. He looked up at her. She must have felt him stare because she turned to him and gave him a sympathetic smile. Yugi returned it, although he was still unsure of why.

There was no one in line or in the entire café, so the young cashier walked up to Yugi and sat down in the chair across from him.

"You aren't around here, are you?"

Yugi froze, not knowing what to say. He didn't want her to know he was a runaway. She would call the police and have him returned home, returned back to school, back to his hell.

"W-what?" Yugi tried to laugh. "I've lived here all my life."

"Really?" She said, unconvinced. "Well then tell me, why aren't you in school?"

"I, uh," Yugi's face flushed with frustration. "I dropped out. What about you?" Yugi said angrily when the girl raised an eyebrow at his previous statement. "You look a little young to be working at this time of day."

"It's called night college, sweetie. But then again, I suppose they don't have that in Domino."

Yugi gasped and quickly covered his mouth, only to mentally slap himself. Now she knew for sure that something was up. He sighed and closed his eyes. There was no point in trying to play stupid; she had caught him. She was going to call the cops and have him shipped back.

"H-how did you know?"

She leaned into him and smiled. "You're still wearing your school uniform."

Yugi instinctively looked down and saw his blue school blazer. He groaned, and placed his face into the table.

"It's okay, honey. I won't tell your secret."

Yugi looked up at her, his mouth agape. "You..you won't?"

"Nah. I ran away from home once myself. Was running straight back about two blocks later."

Yugi scoffed and stirred his now lukewarm coffee with his finger. The girl watched him quietly, not saying anything for near a full two minutes.

"I'm Amy." She said, looking at him with friendly eyes.

Yugi smiled at her. "Yugi," he said, "Yugi Motou."

"It's nice to meet you, Yugi."

"You made a mistake with my coffee." Yugi said looking down. "You put vanilla in my coffee, but only charged me for a regular one. I need to pay you."

"Honey, it's fifty-cents. I'm pretty sure the shop's not gonna go bankrupt. And, it wasn't a mistake."

Yugi looked up at her, confused.

"You look like you've been through some tough shit. The least I can do is give you some free vanilla in your coffee."

Yugi found himself smiling even wider and he took another sip. She was being kind to him, and that was something Yugi was used too. He hadn't known this girl long, but he was sure she was going to be a good companion during his journey. She said she wasn't going to call the police and Yugi, for some odd reason, trusted her.

He hoped he put his trust in the right person.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Joey dug through his pocket and pulled out his key, placing it into the lock and turned the tumblers. He pushed the door opened and came home to a normal scene. The light in the apartment living room was turned off, but the television was on, and the volume was cranked up loud. Mister Wheeler was laying spread out on the couch, passed out. A half-empty beer bottle was hanging loosely in his fingers, and the floor was littered with empty ones.

Joey sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He turned off the television. He walked into the kitchen and to the fridge which was nearly empty. He reached for a microwave meal and grabbed a soda. He placed his meal into the microwave after taking it out of its packaging and leaned against the counter, sipping his soda. He had spent two hours scourging the city, looking for any signs of Yugi. He hadn't found anything, and Joey found himself having to give up for the day and make his way back home, to his drunken father.

The microwave beeped and Joey pulled out his chicken nugget meal, staring at it. He ate it without thinking much of it or tasting it, his mind was elsewhere. Tristan hadn't helped him out at all, and Joey was still struggling in deciding weather he really wanted to find Yugi or, if it was as Tristan had said, and he just wanted to ease his guilt. Joey really had no idea, and he didn't know what he was going to do. Domino was a big city, and Joey had only managed to search a small fraction of it in the two hours he searched. Yugi could've left the city, or maybe even the country! He was smart enough.

'Maybe he snuck onto a cargo ship.' Joey thought angrily. 'He could be halfway to America by now, or half a mile down the street.' He ate the last of his dinner and threw away his trash. He carried his soda over to his room, looking with disgust at his drunk of a father. Mister Wheeler was always a big drinker, from what Joey could remember. But it got worse even since his parents divorced and his mother ran off with his sister.

Joey made his mind run off to other things. He didn't want to think about his sister. She had been his best friend, and he hadn't seen or spoken to her in nearly seven years. Joey knew she lived somewhere in Domino, but he had never been able to find her, and his mother would never reveal that location to him for fear of his father coming over and hurting Serenity.

Joey shook his head and took another sip of his soda, letting the caffeine run through his veins even though he was getting ready to go to bed. He went across the living room, stepping over the beer bottles his father let litter the apartment. He was going to have to clean it up eventually, but right now he just wanted to sleep and forget about all his troubles.

His room wasn't great. It had an unmade bed tucked away in the corner and a dresser against the front wall. Dirty clothes were all over the place, covering the floor, scattered on top of his bed, and even hanging down his dresser. It didn't bother him that much, though. He had grown up in a dirty house. He didn't even know what a clean house looked like. Joey finished up the last of his drink and crumpled up the can, tossing it into a wastebasket covered by his bed.

Joey walked over to it and let himself fall flat onto it, not even bothering to take off his school uniform. His thoughts wandered around, concerning his sister, that homework he didn't do, but mostly they were on Yugi, and they were telling him to go and try harder to find him. They sent him the worst possible scenarios, convincing him that Yugi was in trouble, and if he wasn't, he was going to be.

Joey trembled. He didn't want to think about Yugi for a while. He just wanted to sleep and let his problems become non-existent. He wish was granted because within a few moments he was snoring.


	5. Chapter 5

**I wrote this chapter last Saturday at 3 in the morning when I was struck by a terrible plague known as insomnia. And since there is nothing good on TV at 3 am, I decided I might as well write fan fiction. Well, I wrote this and afterwards, while looking it over, I said to myself, 'What the hell did I write?' **

**Sage: We thought it was too violent and horrid for anyone to see, so we spent the past week trying to see places where we could tweak it, but in the end, we could not find it. So this chapter is the same now as it was when it was written. **

**Most of you will probably find this extremely disturbing and ask me if I need to be mentally evaluated. I do not blame you. But I do blame the insomnia. It's all his fault. I plead insanity!  
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**Sage: This story may require an update of the rating, but I'm not sure yet. You guys tell me what you think.**

**Very well, you have been warned. **

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

-2 Months Later-

Two months. Two months his grandson had been missing. Two months since his little boy left him, for a reason he felt too ashamed of to talk about. Solomon Motou was experiencing the most unusual mixture of emotions. He was deeply depressed about Yugi leaving; one look at him made that obvious. His skin had turned gray, and he had earned an extra few wrinkles around his face. The green overalls he wore each day hung on him more loosely than they used too. He had lost a good amount of weight since finding his grandson's empty bed. He found that he wasn't hungry as often, and the little times he did eat he felt guilty because his thoughts were constantly on Yugi. Was he getting enough to eat?

Solomon Motou had also earned some deep, black circles underneath his eyes from the weeks of insomnia. He felt guilty about sleeping too. Where was Yugi sleeping? Was he getting enough sleep? Was he hurt?

To make things worse, Solomon had barely heard a word from the police since he first called them two months ago. He was standing by the phone, the cord wrapped around his fingers as he listened to the ringing of the phone. He needed answers and he needed them now. What were they doing to locate his grandson?

"Domino Police Department." A female answered, sounding rather scripted.

"I need to speak with Officer Daisuke." Solomon said quietly. His voice was quiet and hoarse. He hadn't the need to talk as much. He hadn't anyone to talk with. Customers rarely visited the story anymore, he felt too depressed to go outside of his home, and he didn't have his little boy to speak too every evening after he came home from school.

"Can I get your name please, sir?"

"Solomon Motou."

"Hold on, I'll get him."

Solomon waited patiently as the lady put him on hold, barely listening to the music she had put on. Was it rock? He didn't know. His mind was running among other things and ideas. After about two minutes, the music stopped and a familiar voice come onto the line.

"Mr. Motou?" Daisuke said, his voice sounded nervous and dry.

"Yes, Officer Daisuke? I hate to bother you at such an hour-" his eyes glanced over to the clock hanging above the Game Shop counter; it read five-thirty in the morning, "but I need to know: What are you doing to locate my grandson?"

"Mr. Motou, believe me, we at the DPD are doing everything in our power to find Yugi and bring him back safe and sound."

"I don't mean to be rude, Officer, but" Solomon paused, coiling the phone cord tighter around his fingers, "I believe that if you are really doing everything in your power, you would have found him by now."

There was a pause…

"Mr. Motou, I know it may seem frustrating and stressful, but this isn't an episode of CSI. We can't solve cases in an hour time span. These things take time. It may be well over another few weeks before we get any leads as to where Yugi may be." Solomon heard Daisuke speak. He may not have been facing the man eye to eye, but he could tell that the Officer was lying through his teeth.

"Well, where are you extending your search too?"

Officer Daisuke paused again. "What do you mean, Mr. Motou?"

"Surely Yugi's not in Domino anymore! I've searched around the city a hundred times myself. Are you in contact with any other police departments from the neighboring cities? Tokyo? Nishio? He has to be in one of the nearest cities."

"Mr. Motou, even if Yugi did find the means to leave another city, we wouldn't be able to do anything; he'd be out of our jurisdiction."

"What do you mean by that?" Solomon found his rage increasing as his grip on the phone tightened.

"Think about it like this, sir. When a murder commits his deed, it does not matter how far away he gets from the scene. Once found he can only be tried in the jurisdiction he committed the crime."

"But the police department puts out the message to all the neighboring cities!" Solomon argued. "The criminal may only be charged in his city, but the police officers in the other cities have the right to arrest him! And, how is any of these relevant to a runaway?"

"Mr. Motou, I under your frustration-"

"No you do not, Officer!" Solomon snapped. "You have no idea what I'm going through! You have no idea how many hours of sleep I've lost worrying about my grandson, who is more than likely sleeping in a gutter, on these cold winter nights, he's probably sick as a dog! He's probably starving! And you have the audacity to tell me that you are doing everything in your power to find him? When in fact you are doing absolutely nothing?"

"Sir, if you would just let me explain-"

"No!" Solomon interrupted. "Forget it. You're fired. I'll have better luck trying to find Yugi on my own." Before he even gave Daisuke a chance to reply, Solomon slammed the phone down on harshly back onto the receiver. He no longer had the police's help in his dilemma, if he ever had it in the first place. He had just fired the only person who seemed to be investigating Yugi's case; but not anymore. He breathed in deep, ragged, angry breaths as he stared at the phone. He was mad that the police weren't doing anything to find Yugi. He was even madder that they were lying to him about what they were and were not doing.

After a minute of being blind angry at the DPD, Solomon found himself breaking down into tears. He leaned over the counter, planting his elbows on it and holding his face in his hands. He sobbed, his shoulders rising and falling with each pain-filled breath he took.

"Yugi…" He cried. "My little boy." He sniffed and rubbed his forehead as he cries quieted, his body running out of tears. "Please Yugi..please be okay. Please come home."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

A young man walked silently along the streets of early morning Tokyo, his feet dragging along the pavement, a backpack hung loosely on one shoulder. He was in a sleeveless tee shirt, and the cold, bitter December wind nipped at his skin, causing goose bumps. He flinched and shivered, but otherwise remained unfazed, keeping quiet. His face was layered in dirt, and his hair was matted and tangled underneath its own natural oils. The sun was just starting to rise, catching the horizon on fire.

His back ached, and his entire body was stiff and frozen. He had been forced to sleep on cold concrete, without any kind of warmth. He had barely slept at all, which was obvious from the dark, purple bags underneath his eyes. His lips were a dark blue and his skin was pale as snow.

His stomach grumbled, breaking the silence he had been sharing with the morning. He clutched his stomach in an attempt to quiet it, but it did nothing. His sighed and tears slid down from his eyes as his empty stomach growled once again, and pained him. He hadn't eaten anything in two days; his fifty dollars had run out long ago and he had been unsuccessful in begging, which was his last resort to get money.

The tears fell from the young man's eyes, leaving streak marks on his dirty face. He was alone in the streets, his stomach was empty, and his entire body was cold and stiff. He regretted leaving his home, yet he couldn't find it in him to go back. He couldn't go back to his tormentors; he couldn't face his Grandfather and look at him the same way ever again. This was his home now: the alley where he slept each night. The streets that he walked around each day, avoiding the stares of the ignorant and proud. When he was on his knees, begging, he barely earned any money; occasionally there would be the one sympathetic person who felt sorry for the poor, lost boy and would spare him a few dollars, but it was never enough to pay for more than one meal's worth of food.

But lately not even his begging had received him anything. Maybe it was because people were starting to recognize him; he did stand out in a crowd after all. And he was recognizing people too. Every morning there was an older man with gray hair who always wore a suit that walked down the very road the young man was on right now. And then there was a young woman who jogged this route each morning. Maybe people just didn't have any compassion anymore. They were human after all.

The young man stopped walking and looked up. He was outside a coffee shop and the smell of fresh baked pastries came out through the door, infecting his nostrils. His stomach growled as his body absorbed the smell and associated it with food. He put his hand to the glass door and pushed it open; a small bell rang as he stepped over the threshold. A young woman was standing behind the counter and looked up when she heard the chime. Her mouth dropped open and she rushed over to the young man, grabbing him by his upper arm and ushering him to a table. She sat him down in a chair and looked at him with sad eyes.

"Yugi?" She asked, on the verge of tears herself. She just couldn't believe how he looked. She had last seen him two days ago. He hadn't looked great, but he had looked better than this. His face was stripped in black and white from his tears and his eyes looked like empty shells.

Yugi looked up at her wordlessly and he just stared at her, like he was looking right through her.

Amy bit her lip and ran over to the kitchen area of the empty shop. It was barely six in the morning and she wasn't expecting any business for at least another hour. If Yugi was going to stop by, then now would be the best time. She brewed up a hot cup of coffee and picked out a warm, fresh out of the oven, cinnamon roll. She brought them over to Yugi and placed them in front of him, taking the empty seat across from him.

"Eat." She commanded and Yugi obliged, ripping off small pieces of the pastry and placing them in his mouth.

"While you're here," Amy began, "tell me what the hell happened?"

Yugi swallowed his bit of food and looked down. "These last few days..have been hard."

Amy scoffed. "I didn't need you to tell me that. What's been going on?"

Yugi took a small sip of his coffee and his body instantly relaxed as the warm drink went through his blood. "I…just haven't been sleeping."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're sleeping on concrete?" She raised an eyebrow and looked down on him. Yugi remained quiet, taking only small bits of the cinnamon roll and small sips of coffee. Amy sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Yugi, I won't call the police because I promised you I wouldn't. And I keep my promises. But, if you keep this up, I'm afraid I might have to let that be the first promise I break."

Yugi's eyes shot up at her, pleading. "Please. Don't." His voice was hoarse from not speaking in two days. "Please. I-I can't go back."

"You can though. You can go home, sleep in a warm bed, not having to squander for your next meal. You can tell your Grandfather everything you told me. The situation at school will be handled and you won't have to be afraid anymore."

Yugi shook his head, tears falling out of his eyes like an open faucet. "No. I-It won't ever stop. If-If I tell, things wi-will only get worse. B-believe me."

"Yugi, honey." Amy said sadly.

"P-people thought I was a-a joke before. Wh-what will they think when I co-come back after ru-running away?"

Amy leaned in to Yugi and looked him straight in the eyes. She spoke words that she herself knew were some of the truest out there. They were words her mother had spoken to her and that she knew one day she would speak to her own children. But, for now, she was going to have to tell them to a friend she barely knew, but yet felt compelled to help.

"Why do you care what they think?"

Yugi sniffed and shook his head. "I-I've never had any-anyone's approval…any friends. I-I just need someone, anyone to think of me as something more than just a-" His voice stopped and he had to close his eyes and the emotions overloaded his system. "Than just a stupid kid." Yugi finished, hanging his head down.

"Don't I count? Aren't I a friend?"

"You just think I'm a st-stupid kid too."

"Honey, you ran away from home. That was an incredibly stupid thing to do. But, you are not stupid."

Yugi said nothing. He kept his gaze down, away from Amy.

"What goes through your head?" Amy asked, her voice rose an octave as her frustration grew, "when you contemplate running away? What goes through your head that is so strong it makes you want to leave your home?"

Yugi was silent for a moment, and then he exhaled deeply. "I have nowhere to go, but I cannot stay where I don't belong."

Amy felt his words tug at her heartstrings, but she did her best to keep her face stoic. She needed to be strong for Yugi and for herself. All she saw in front of her was a lost little boy who had needed so much help, but also needed to learn to save himself.

"Is that how you really feel?" She asked, this time her voice was soft and motherly. Yugi nodded.

"What on Earth makes you want to stay here? What on Earth is so bad at home that you would chose to sleep on cold concrete over going back home, going back to a warm bed?"

"I told you!" Yugi cried, tears rolling down his face. "I can't go back! I can't go back to them! They hate me! They don't want me there! They-they'll just laugh and stare-they always stare-and make my life miserable!"

Amy leaned into Yugi. "You're the one making your life miserable. And you can fix it; all you have to do is go back home and tell your Grandfather everything."

"How can I? Even if I do go back, how can I look my Grandfather in the eyes and tell him everything I've kept secret? How can we go back to our normal lives? How can I earn back the trust of my Grandfather?"

"That's what you have to figure out, sweetie." A bell rang, singling the first customer of the day. Amy looked over her shoulder and saw the man walk up to the counter. Her eyes went up to the analog clock that hung over the door, marking it just half past six in the morning. Had it been that long already? She turned around to finish up her conversation with Yugi. "I have to go." She stood up. "Please, make the right decision Yugi. Or I might have to make one for you." She turned around and went up to the counter to help the man, leaving Yugi by himself.

He looked at the food and realized that he was no longer hungry. He pushed it away from him, feeling even emptier than ever. He stood and left his food, exiting the café without a second glance towards Amy. His wet eyes looked up to the orange sky, the sun still struggling to rise over the horizon. He moved his legs, no destination in mind. He let his mind wander, thinking about nothing and everything.

_I've nowhere else to go_

_ But I cannot stay where I don't belong._

He didn't belong back in Domino. People didn't want him there. The students, his teachers, his own parents. None of them wanted him. He even had his own doubts about his Grandfather. Did his Grandfather really want and care about him? Or did he just feel sorry for the poor, orphan boy and felt obligated as the boy's only living relative to take care of him?

_Here in the Shadows_

_ I'm safe. I'm free. _

He was safe here. He was away from the abusers. He may not have had all the pleasures he had back home, but at least here people didn't bother him; they left him alone entirely. He didn't have to worry about who might decide to pick on him that day, or worry about getting his possessions stolen, damaged or thrown in water.

_Show me the Shadow_

_ Where true meaning lies._

_ Show much more dismay_

_ In empty eyes. _

Empty eyes.

His eyes were empty now. And they were full of dismay. He had seen his reflection a few days ago, in a puddle of water as he had tried to take shelter from the falling rain. He remembered what his eyes looked like. What they had lost. He eyes used to shine, despite his experiences. Now, they were dull and dead. They looked like empty shells of what they once were. And Yugi didn't know how to bring them back. Or, if he even wanted them back.

He looked up and saw that he was in an old car lot. There were a dozen old, rusty cars with broken windshields. Some of them didn't have doors. Yugi walked into it, searching around. There was an empty red one, missing a backseat door, close to the entrance. He walked up to it and placed his backpack in it, observing how abandoned it looked over the others. Yugi didn't know why, but he stuck it under the seat, hidden from plain sight, and continued to walk forward. He noticed some other backpacks lying around, and empty soup cans. It looked like there was someone living here.

"Hello?" Yugi called out. He wasn't expecting an answer.

"Who the hell are you?"

Yugi gasped and swung around, seeing a group of three, burly boys. They had scars on their faces, indications that they had been in fights. One of them was missing some teeth. Yugi stepped back, which only caused one of the boys-the biggest, to step forward, closer towards him.

"I said, who the hell are you?"

Yugi swallowed a lump in his throat, unable to find words. Yugi continued to step back until he ran into a car, unable to move because of the boy blocking his only escape route. The boy realized this and he smirked. He shoved Yugi against the car by his shoulders, sending a shock of pain up Yugi's back. He screamed in pain and the other two boys snickered.

"Answer me!" The largest one yelled, his spit hitting Yugi in the face.

"Yugi!" He screamed, trying to free from himself from the boy's grasp. "Yugi Motou!"

The boy dropped him and kicked dirt into his face. Yugi coughed and found himself sinking into the ground, trying to make himself appear smaller to his new tormentor. The boy got down on one knee, eye level to Yugi.

"Well tell me, 'Yugi Motou', what are you doing on our territory?"

"I-I didn't know anyone lived here! I was just walking around an-and I found this place!"

"Looks we got ourselves a runaway, Bruno." Of the smaller boys commented, crossing his arms and glaring.

"Is that so?" The one called Bruno said, his lips turning into a twisted smile. He licked his lips and smacked them before grabbing Yugi by his upper arm and hoisting him up swiftly and violently. Yugi looked fearfully into the eyes of his bully. Bruno saw that fear and he only smiled wider. He shoved Yugi forcefully onto the ground, his head hitting the dirt. Yugi screamed in pain and his hands instantly went to cradle his sore cranium.

"Come on, boys." Bruno said, approaching Yugi. "Let's teach this little punk a lesson about trespassing." He ballad one fist and began to mimic punching his other hand as he and the other two boys snickered and got closer to Yugi. Bruno kicked Yugi hard in the stomach. Yugi gasped in pain, his mouth opening into a large 'O' shape. One of the other boys saw that and took advantage of it, by kicking dirt into his open mouth.

Yugi sputtered and tried to spit out the debris but found his mouth clenching involuntarily in pain as the group of boys began to kick him harder, punches being throw faster.

"Harder, Jack! Rusty!" Bruno ordered as he kicked Yugi's head.

The boy named Jack grinned and stepped on one of Yugi's wrists. Rusty punched Yugi right in the face, causing blood to run out of his nose and his right eye to throb painfully. They continued with the beatings for another five minutes, punching and kicking Yugi, leaving ugly bruises and trails of blood all over his body, pulling at his hair and scratching his pale skin, crimson seeping out from the freshly made wounds.

When he was almost completely black and blue, Bruno began to slow down. He allowed his companions another few moments of having their fun before stopping them.

"Alright, boys. That's enough." Each of them got in one last good kick before stopping and turning around to face their boss. Bruno looked down at Yugi, who was in the fetal position, sputtering and trembling, having been given no mercy. Blood covered his entire face and by now his right eye was swollen shut. Bruno bent down and hovered over Yugi and stared at him maliciously. Yugi looked up at his tormenter with his one good eye, tears leaking out of it and struggling to leak out of his swollen one. His mouth was still open and he was still attempting to spit out all the dirt that he been forced into his mouth earlier.

Bruno spat into Yugi's mouth and onto his face, taking extreme delight in the cry Yugi let out. One of complete desperation.

"Yo, Bruno." Jack said, unfazed by his boss's treatment of the younger boy, "what do we do with him now?"

Bruno smiled and turned around to face his posse. "I say we keep the little shit." His eyes turned back to Yugi who was looking up at him with confusion in his eyes, and an intense fear. "After all, I've always wanted a pet."

"Wh-what?" Yugi managed to stutter out, trembling at the words the man was saying.

Bruno kicked Yugi in the face roughly. "Did I give you permission to talk?" He shouted, his face turning a deep purple. "Boys, I think the new pet needs to be disciplined."

"What do you want us to do, boss?" Rusty asked.

Bruno was quiet for a moment as he thought of a suitable punishment. He watched as Yugi slowly moved his limbs, in an attempt to ease the pain. The perfect punishment came into mind as he watched his new pet wiggle and squirm and whimper.

"Go get some of the wires from one of the cars."

He heard the two boys mumble some things inaudible, but they did as they were told. Each went to one of the abandon cars and pulled open the hood, pulling out the multi-colored wires that connected the battery to the engine. They brought their collection back to their boss who took them graciously.

"Boss, what are you going to do to him?" Jack asked, suspicious of his boss's motives.

"You'll see." He smirked and got down onto his knees, right above Yugi. He shoved Yugi onto his stomach and placed his knees over the back of Yugi's knees. He pulled at Yugi's arms and forced them behind Yugi's back. He took one of the pair of wires and wrapped them tightly around Yugi's wrists, pulling at them and tying them, listening to Yugi cry out, until he started to see blood starting to seep out over them and an indentation being made in the skin. He moved down and did the same thing with Yugi's ankles, leaving him nearly completely immobile.

"Boss, what are you doing?" Jack asked again.

Bruno dusted his hands and stood up, admiring his handiwork, enjoying seeing Yugi struggle against his bindings, crying in frustration and pain. "Sometimes you have to tie up a new pet so they don't run away. After all, this little pet certainly has a history of running away." He leaned down, getting his face into Yugi's face. Yugi could feel the hot breath on his sore , throbbing eye, the bitter taste of this man's spit still fresh in his mouth. "And we would just be so heartbroken if our new pet left."

"Dude," Rusty said, finding himself at unease with what his friend was doing. "Is this really necessary? Can't we just let the kid go? I mean, we gave him one hell of a beating. I think he's learned his lesson."

"No we cannot, Rusty. He came into our territory. That makes him our property. And I want to have the pet I never got. It only took my parents kicking me out to get it." He directed his attention back to Yugi. "What did you say your name was again?"

Yugi trembled, too scared to speak. Bruno growled. The sound alone was enough to scare Yugi even more and, afraid of what else the physcho might do, he spoke. "Y-Yugi."

"Yugi, eh?"

The small boy nodded. Bruno's eyes looked toward to sky, as though he was thinking deeply about something. "I don't like that name. It doesn't suit you. I think I'm going to rename you."

Yugi shook his head violently, "No." He said softly, his voice cracking. He couldn't let these people take away his name. His name was all he had left now. Without his name, he truly was nobody.

"Oh, I think so, pet. Hmm..What should I call you?" He thought it over for a few seconds, and then he snapped his fingers. "I got it. Your new name is going to be Little Shit. That suits you so much better! You're little, and you're a piece of shit!"

He and the other two boys broke out laughing in hysteria, the joke for was them was only that. A joke. For Yugi, it was as though someone had taken a knife and was slowly, slowly, putting it through his heart. It was his school all over again. No, this was worse. These people had tied him up and wanted to keep him as a pet. They didn't see him as a human being…

"Come on, Little Shit," Bruno called, like Yugi was a dog. He whistled. "Come on, boy. Oh, that's right. You're all tied up."

"Please," Yugi begged, tears running down his face faster, leaving heavier streak marks on his dirty, blood-stained face. "Please stop." His voice was barely a whisper. Bruno kicked him in the side of the face.

"Bad, Little Shit! What did I tell you about talking without Master's permission?"

Master? He was Master now?

One of the other boys, Rusty, laughed. "Bruno, I think I have something that might help Little Shit learn his lesson." He was now starting to enjoy the idea of a keeping another human being hostage. It was the control he needed in his life; the control of this punk's life was just what he needed and wanted.

"Pray tell." Bruno said playfully. Rusty shed the jacket he was wearing and tore off part of the sleeve. He walked up to Yugi and forced the fabric into his mouth, having to push past Yugi's teeth. He tied the ends tightly around the back of Yugi's head, leaving him bound and gagged.

"There we go; a nice muzzle to fit the bad doggie." Rusty smiled, revealing his row of crocked, yellow teeth.

Bruno appeared happy with his grunt's work, but he didn't talk. Instead he just took enjoyment in watching the boy cry and struggle against his bindings. He watched as the blood from his wrists and ankles were rubbed off onto other parts of his body as he tried to break free from them; he was only making things worse, though. He was only driving the wires deeper into his skin, into the tissues that made up his anatomy. He tried to talk through, but the gag only made everything he say come out muffled and incomprehensible.

"Now, Little Shit," Bruno said his voice was uncaring and malicious, "if you had behaved like I expect you too, I wouldn't have to punish you."

Yugi was crying and shaking. He was so scared. He had no idea what these people were going to do to him! They beat him mercilessly, and then they bound and gagged him, calling him their 'pet'! Yugi had no idea how he was going to get out of this; if he was going to get out of this. These people were easily three times his size. The big guy, Bruno, had tied him up effortlessly. None of the kicking and scratching Yugi did seemed to have any effect. Tears fell down his face and into dirt, which his mouth still tasted off.

"This hurts me more than it hurts you." Bruno said. "Be a good boy and maybe we can take the muzzle off this evening."

Yugi's tired eyes (or eye) looked down at the bindings and then back up at his 'Master'.

Bruno frowned and shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sorry Little Shit. I can't take the risk of you running away. Oh no. I'm going to have to keep you tied up for a long time. Maybe forever."

Yugi whimpered and placed his head down into the dirt and began to sob. Amy was right. He should have gone home a long time ago. He shouldn't have run away in the first place. And now, he was more than likely going to die at the hands of these psychopaths!

'I shouldn't have runaway.' He thought, his tears wetting the dirt beneath him, making thick mud. 'Oh, God. I'm going to die. I'm so sorry, Amy. Grandpa. I shouldn't have run away!'

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**I warned you. You all hate me now, don't you?**

**Sage: That would mean there was a point and time where they did not hate you.**

**Touché. So go ahead: Flame me! I deserve it! **

**Sage: And, just so we are clear- *coughs***

**Lawyers: DarkHeartInTheSky is not liable for any emotional damage you may have received for reading this story.**

**Thank you, lawyers. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to crawl under a rock for another few weeks while I work on the next chapter for this story. Buh-bye my readers! **


	6. Chapter 6

**The point of last chapter was not to make you guys think I need to be admitted to a psych ward. (Sorry to those of you who are permantly emotionally scarred, but I'm afraid you won't be getting that deposit on your sanity back.) It was the point out the dangers runaways can run into. **

** Sage: We'd like to thank **alisue, hoom, Olivia Graham, deadpoolhulk, **and **Mystery Agent, **for reviewing last chapter, even if it was…disturbing. We really appreciate all the reviews we get!**

-0-0-0-0-0-

Joey sighed as he placed his head on the desk, his temples throbbing against the cool wood, doing his best to ignore the sounds of the other students around him. Dark circles under his eyes told of his lack of sleep, and his eyes were swollen; it was a battle just to keep his eyelids open, and it was one that he had lost. Luckily it was only homeroom and he could attempt to at least get an hour's worth of sleep.

"Still no luck?" Tristan's voice came from his right. Joey kept his eyes shut, but shook his head, turning it in the direction of Tristan.

"I searched all night." Joey said, his voice quiet and dry. "I even went into the bad part of town. No sign of him."

"Joey, it's been two months. If the police don't have any idea where he is, you're not going to either."

"You don't understand, Tristan. That last search marked the end of Domino. I have now literally searched the entire city."

Tristan was quiet, deep in his own thoughts. Joey welcomed the silence and did his best to tune out the indistinct conversations around him, in an attempt to sleep. Ever since he began his search for Yugi, things like sleep and eating had taken a second priority. Joey had lost a good ten pounds in the past months, hardly ever being hungry. Half the time he didn't even realize that he was hungry, or that he had skipped dinner the previous night and breakfast that morning. Nowadays, his mind was always on Yugi.

Where was he sleeping? What was he eating? And the one question that made Joey shudder ever time the thought entered his mind: Was he even still alive?

Joey felt the guilt weigh on his shoulders. He had told Yugi to leave. His words had been the straw that broke the camel's back, being Yugi's will. If Yugi was dead, then Joey would be responsible. He may not have been the one to actually kill Yugi, but he would be the reason Yugi was dead.

Joey felt salty tears leak out of his eyes. How could he live knowing he lead a kid to his death? What if Yugi had committed suicide? Then Joey for sure would be not better than a filthy murderer. His words were the gun that killed Yugi.

"Maybe," Tristan said softly, bringing Joey out of his thoughts, "if you knew where he lived, you could track him down easier. You could talk to his parents and learn about him."

"Like I haven't thought of that." Joey said impatiently. "But I don't know where he lives. I have no idea."

The sound of a bell rang and all the students stood up and gathered their belongings, preparing to go onto their next class. Tristan stood and slung his backpack over one shoulder.

"Listen, Joey. I have a Beautification Meeting today, so you'll be on your own for lunch."

Joey snorted. "No prob. I wouldn't want to interrupt your training the freshmen on how to clean toilets."

Tristan scowled. He closed his eyes and rose his chin proudly. "Today we clean the front office." His face suddenly dropped and hid his eyes under his brown bangs. "Toilets are tomorrow." Without another word, Tristan walked away from his best friend and hurried off to his next class.

Joey sighed and began to get his stuff organized and the group of kids who had the classroom his was in now began to flood through the doors. Then, out of nowhere, a thought came to Joey. Something Tristan had said. He smiled as the thought became more coherent. He happily hurried out of the classroom, eager to share his idea with Tristan at the soonest possible moment.

Maybe he could find Yugi.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Joe, I don't think this is such a good idea." Tristan said nervously, his feet shaking and his eyes darting in every which direction.

"Come on, man!" Joey urged. "You said you'd be cleaning the front office today."

"Yeah, the _front _office. Not the _principal's _office."

They were right near the front desk, just a few feet away. The secretary was too engrossed in updating her status on her social network site to pay any attention to what the two young men were whispering about, having no interest in it at all. She popped a bubble with her gum, the loudest sound that part of the school had heard all day.

"Tristan, all you have to do is go in the office, find the information the school has on Yugi, than run out!"

"Joey, I can't sneak into our principal's office!" He opened up his palm and began to count off various reasons with his fingers. "I could be impeached from the Beautification Team, I could be expelled, or I could get sent to jail!"

"Dude, nobody's going to call the cops on that. Just go tell Ms. Whats-Her-Name over there that you want to surprise the principal by cleaning his office. I've researched this since homeroom. He has a meeting until three this afternoon. That gives you over half an hour to find the files and get the hell out of there!"

"I could get into so much trouble, Joey!"

Joey's voice dropped several octaves and his eyes darkened, revealing the seriousness of the subject for Joey. "Don't do this for me. Do this for Yuge."

When Tristan stared into Joey's begging, unwavering eyes. He felt his stomach knot up. Suddenly, he felt the need to comply too Joey's favor. In the two months Yugi had been missing, Tristan had not once felt the need to go out and look for him. In the two months of hearing Joey tell about the many nights sleep he had lost searching the city for the lost boy, he had not once felt it was his responsibility to go out and look for him.

Until now.

Now, he too began to wonder the same thoughts that had plagued Joey. Was Yugi alive? Was he hurt? And Tristan now felt that he was responsible for helping in any way he could to find the missing teen.

"Ugh." He moaned, craning his neck towards the ceiling and rubbing his face with his hands. "I'm probably going to regret this but…" He paused. "Okay. I'll do it."

Joey's face lit up like a child's one Christmas morning. He smiled wide and his eyes shone bright. He grabbed Tristan by the shoulders and pulled him into a hard hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tristan!" He cried into his friends shoulder before releasing. Tears were actually leaking down his face. He pulled Tristan into another hug.

"Okay, dude," Tristan pushed Joey away, "quit it before you start giving people ideas."

"Sorry." Joey wiped his eyes with his sleeves.

Tristan exhaled and waved his wrists. "Okay. Wish me luck, bud." The brunette walked up to the front desk and stared at the middle aged secretary nervously.

"Umm..Miss?" He didn't know her name, but he hoped to get away using only formalities.

She looked up at him annoyed and popped her gum again, smacking on it loudly as she pulled it back into her mouth. "What?"

"Uh, my name is Tristan Taylor. I'm the president of the Beautification Team, and me and my fellow Beauty members were thinking…Our principal works so hard to keep this place going and we would like to thank him by..tiding up his office. We know that he is in a meeting until later this afternoon and we thought it would be a wonderful surprise for him for when he is done." Tristan placed on a fake smile, trying to cover up his nervousness.

The secretary looked behind him. "Where are your 'beauty members'?"

"I..uh…told them to stay in the room until I got the okay, from you, that we could clean up our wonderful principal's office."

She stared at him with her piercing black eyes. There was a small ding and her eyes went to her computer, her mouth opening up at the delicious gossip she was receiving via an IM from her social network site.

"So…what do you say, ma'am?"

"Sure, sure, kid." She said hastily as she typed up a reply on her computer. Once she had sent the message she reached for a drawer to her left and pulled out a small key. She tossed it over to Tristan. "That's the key to the principal's office. His meeting is over in half an hour. If you're going to clean it, make it fast."

"Uh, yes ma'am." Tristan said, trying to conceal his excitement. He couldn't believe that his ploy had actually worked. "Thank you." He turned around and began to walk towards Joey, holding the key up in the air, knowing the secretary was too engrossed in gossiping to pay him any more attention. The blonde smiled eagerly and gave him a big thumbs up.

Joey then motioned with his hands down the hallway where the office was; he blocked with his wrists a watch, trying to conceive the idea that Tristan needed to hurry. Getting the message clear, Tristan nodded and began to walk towards that hallway, past the secretary.

The administrators hallway was pretty empty. A door here and there, and then one set of bathrooms. Tristan walked all the way to the end until he saw the door marked in large, bold, black letters: PRINCIPAL.

Tristan exhaled and stuck the key into the lock, turning it clockwise until he heard the tumblers click. Nausea flooded over him as his adrenaline began to pump, causing his heart rate to spike. Doing his best to ignore it, Tristan pushed open the door and walked inside the principal's office.

He was amazed at how clean it already was. A large mahogany desk was pushed up against the back wall, just enough room behind it to fit a spinning chair. In the back right corner was a filing cabinet five feet high, with a potted plant sitting comfortably on top. Two chairs sat in front of the desk, ready for anybody in violation of the school's rules to sit in.

Several different degrees were scattered around the various walls, each in a brown picture frame. The brown carpet was soft and recently vaccummed, giving the room a fresh, clean smell. Unlike most of his teachers, not a single paper littered the desk. Tristan took a deep breath and walked over to the filing cabinet. His fingers went up to the third drawer, marked with a label 'H-O'. He knew these were the last names of all the different students. His hand pulled on the steel handle and opened the drawer, revealing at least two hundred different files. He took a deep breath and licked the tip of his thumb and began to peel through the layer of manila folders, barely glancing at a name before moving onto the next folder.

"Haisuke…Hatate…" He murmured the various names as he pulled their folder back, discarded it mentally at once.

He heard voices coming from outside. Tristan froze. One of them sounded like the principal's. Tristan's eyes shot to the wall clock, reading fifteen minutes before the hour. Tristan swore, slamming his foot down. The principal's meeting had ended early.

"Come on, come on." Tristan said, searching even faster for the wanted folder. He had to find it and fast, so he still had a chance to leave the office before the principal came in.

"Maikai…Mazuki…"

The voices were getting louder.

"Miwow…Miko…."

He could now make out the two voices of his principal and vice principal.

"Moti…Motin…."

His heart was pounding inside his head, he could feel each heartbeat inside his temple.

"Motou." He sighed and everything calmed down. He grabbed the folder and slammed the cabinet shut, not noticing that it had rolled back out. He stuck the folder inside his blue school uniform and ran for the door. He glanced out the window and saw his principal just a few feet away, busy talking to his colleague. Tristan gulped and called for all his strength. He pushed the door open and ran outside, all the way down the hallway where it took a right back to the main part of the building before anyone of the administrators could notice.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The principal waved good-bye to his colleague, and dug into his pocket for the key to his office. He placed it in the keyhole, but was surprised to realize that the door was already opened.

"Huh." He said aloud and pushed opened the door; he entered his room and closed it quietly behind him. His eyes scanned the room. "Nothing seems out of place." He inquired aloud and began to walk over to his desk. He noticed that one of the drawers in his filing cabinet was open slightly, the manila folders peeking out of the drawer. He closed it wordlessly and went to his desk seat. He was thinking through the strange events when his phone began to ring. Immediately he forgot about it all and answered the phone, bringing it up to his ear.

"Domino High School." He said, the strange state of his office forever forgotten in his mind.

-0-0-0-0-0-

He braced himself up against the wall, the folder clutched to his chest, panting heavily.

"Tristan?" Joey's voice came, causing the brunette's eyes to shot up. He saw the question lingering in Joey's eyes and before the blonde could verbalize it, he held the folder up high. Seeing the way Joey's eyes lit up was priceless. He handed the folder to Joey who clutched onto it as though his life were dependent upon it.

"You…" He said in between his gasps for air, "owe me big time."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Man, I can't believe this." Joey whispered, turning another page of the folder. "This thing is filled with nothing but lies."

"How so?" Tristan questioned, moving in closer on the bench. School had just ended and the two boys, who normally walked home, had stayed back so they could examine the file the school had on Yugi. Joey had just wanted to look for the address the school had, but once he started to scan over some of the other items, he couldn't stop.

"January 15, 2006." Joey read aloud. Tristan's eyes perked at the date. That was when they were all back in the fifth grade. "Yugi Motou had to be taken to a hospital during recess for a broken arm. Yugi said he broke it when he fell from the monkey bars."

"How is that a lie? Yugi did break his arm in fifth grade."

"Yeah," Joey agreed slowly, "but he didn't fall from the monkey bars. I remember vividly. Ushio and his gang pulled him up onto them after he had said he wouldn't climb them. Then, Ushio pushed him off."

"Okay…"

"Why would Yugi not even tell his parents what happened? What hasn't he told anyone?"

"I don't know, Joey. I don't think anybody knows."

"Does anyone even know Yugi Motou? I mean, really know him? Like, his birthday, or his favorite color, or what he wants to be when he grows up?"

Tristan shook his head. "No." He exhaled and stood up. "Listen Joey. I got to head home. You're going to have to be on your own."

"That's okay, Tristan. I think it would be best if I did go by myself. After all, it is my fault he left."

Out of nowhere a fist came in contact with Joey's face, sending the blonde flying onto the ground, where he landed harshly on his back. Joey cried in pain and his hand went up to his now bleeding nose.

"What the fu—" His profane curse was interrupted by Tristan.

"Stop saying that It's your fault. It's not. It's everyone's fault. Your words wouldn't have done anything if we hadn't been bullying him for years. Wallowing in your self-pity isn't going to help find Yugi. Now get off your ass, clean yourself up, and go to Yugi's home. Maybe then you can figure something out." Tristan turned around and walked away from Joey, his figure slowly disappearing from sight over the horizon. Joey felt the blood in his nose clot up, making it hard for him to breathe through it. He slowly stood up, dusting off his uniform. He looked back up in the direction Tristan had gone and his hand instinctively went back up to his nose.

"Freakin' bastard."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Joey had to look from the folder to the sign above the building several times, just to clarify he had the right address. Yugi's home wasn't what he had expected. It was a store, with large red letters hanging out front that read 'GAME'. He stood there for over ten minutes, just staring at the front door, nervous on how to approach this. He had no idea what to expect.

He gulped and pushed on the door, a small bell ringing. There was an elderly man behind a counter, his eyes rising to meet Joey's. Joey had to do his best not to cringe at the sight of him. His skin was gray and loose, falling off his face. His clothes hung off his shoulders, and there were dark circles underneath his eyes.

Joey knew at once that this was Yugi's grandfather, though the pointed hair did help.

"Can I help you, young man?" His voice was quiet and hoarse. Joey inhaled through his blood filled nose, ignoring the sting it brought.

"Mister Motou?" He questioned, and the older man nodded, a look of confusion coming to his face. "My name is Joey Wheeler. I go…" Joey paused. He didn't know whether to use to word 'go' or 'went'. Yugi was dead for all he knew. But, he had already started and he needed to finish. "to school with Yugi. Can I talk to you?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Joey sat on a green couch in the living room, adjacent to the store. He watched quietly as Mister Motou changed the sign hanging on the front door so that it read 'Closed' on the outside. Then, he entered the living room carrying a tray of tea. He placed it on the coffee table in front of Joey and sat on the loveseat across from Joey.

"Have some tea." Mister Motou said.

"Thank you." Joey said quietly, reaching for the steaming cup, watching as Mister Motou did the same.

"So, you go to school with…Yugi?"

Joey nodded.

"Why are you here, young man? Surely you know about…Yugi."

Joey felt his heart clench at the hesitance the old man displayed when saying the name of his grandson.

"Uh," he said stupidly, trying to find his words. "Are Yugi's parents around? I think they need to hear this too."

Mister Motou snorted and a look of disdain came into his eyes. "Yugi's _parents _haven't been around for nearly ten years." Joey was shocked at the amount of hate the old man used with the 'P' word. He also was shocked in learning that Yugi's parents had abandoned him, just like how his mother had abandoned him. He did have something in common with Yugi.

"What did you say your name was again?"

"Joey, sir." The blonde replied softly, feeling an ache in his heart. Yugi may not have had his parents around, but he did have someone who loved and cared about him. And Joey took Yugi away from him.

"Yugi's never mentioned you before and I've never seen you around here either."

Joey traced his finger around the rim of the cup absent mindedly. "We weren't exactly friends." He murmured, ashamed.

"Then what is your affiliation with Yugi?" The old man's voice rose in pitch with concern.

"Mister Motou," Joey started quietly. His eyes rose up to meet Mister Motou's. "Yugi left…because I told him to leave."

The old man blinked, his face was blank and void of any expression. "W-what?" He stuttered, the cup of tea shaking in his hands.

Joey slowly began to tell his story. He told of all the bullying Yugi endured over the last several years. He didn't censor anything. He told Mister Motou of every punch, every kick, every hurtful word. The old man didn't interrupt and Joey didn't pause once. As he neared the end of his story, Joey came to the part of the last time he had spoken to Yugi. The last, horrible words he spoke to the young teen. How he had taken the boy's most prized possession and threw away the one puzzle piece. Joey didn't even leave out the part on how he beat Yugi up for crying.

"Afterwards…I told Yugi nobody wanted him. I told him we'd all be better off if he just left. And he listened to me. That night was the one when he ran away."

Solomon was quiet, emotionless. He couldn't believe it. How was he just now hearing about the torture Yugi had to endure at school? Why hadn't Yugi told him?

Joey could feel the tension rising in the air and the old man didn't say a word.

"I've been looking for him." He put out. "I felt so terrible when I heard that Yugi had ran away. I've spent every night looking for him all around Domino. And, I know it doesn't mean a damn thing, but I am truly sorry, from the bottom of my soul sorry. I have no excuse for what I did. But, I just want someone to know how bad I feel."

Solomon stared at the blonde. He was angry at him for making Yugi's life miserable, but he also felt sympathy for him because he said that he was sorry and he had spent his own time looking for Yugi. Solomon was a good judge of character and he could tell that this boy was very proud just by looking at him. And, for him to crawl his way up to Solomon, praying for forgiveness was proof enough for Solomon that he was one hundred percent sorry.

"Don't apologize to me." He said sternly. He may have felt some pity for the boy, but that didn't mean he was going to go easy on him. "Apologize to Yugi. When you find him."

Joey nodded. "Yes sir. I will find him if it is the last thing I do."

Solomon smirked. "Then what are you waiting for? Get your ass out of my house and find my boy."


	7. Chapter 7

**I had wanted to post this over the weekend, but some personal things came up and I couldn't finish it. **

** Sage: Lazy ass. How dare you allow your personal life and feelings to take a priority over fanfiction?**

** I know. I'm a terrible person. T.T **

** Sage: You deserve to cry! Warnings for this chapter are: swearing and some illegal things.**

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was sundown when Joey left the Motou household, a small hole lingering in the center of his heart. Mister Motou had not yelled at him for the cruelty he had put Yugi through; he didn't kick him out of his home, or call the police for assault. He didn't do anything but make the one request.

Find Yugi.

Which was hardly a request at all because Joey had made a vow to himself that he couldn't go on with his life until he had found the missing teen, even if it took ten years to find him. Now as he walked the abandoned streets of Domino, he found himself looking down with his hands in his pockets, not paying attention to where he was going. He didn't want to go home tonight. His father wouldn't care nor notice his absence anyways. And it was too late it call Tristan and ask to stay at his house for the night. He silently trudged along, dragging his worn out sneakers across the cement pavement. The sun continued to sink over the horizon, beginning to leave Joey alone in the darkness.

When he next looked up, he saw the familiar sight of the school entrance, the barbed wire fence surrounding the pool of water. His face contorted into a deep snarl, his eyes turning into something malicious. He stomped across the courtyard until he reached the fence and could see his reflection wavering in the blue waters. He wrapped his hand around the crisscross gaps in the fence.

"I hate you." He spat bitterly, with self-hatred. "You're a pathetic excuse for a human being. You take your pain and your misery out on others. You should just die in the most painful, most excruciating way possible." His grip on the fence tightened and he shook the fence violently, relentlessly. The clinging of the fence as it shook was soon the only sound inside Joey's head. He was deaf to everything else. Tears that rarely left his eyes began to leak out. Tears of complete depression. Out of utter despair, Joey fell to his knees and hung his head, allowing his blonde bangs to shield his eyes of his humiliation. His tears were his secret, his pride would not allow anyone but him to know of their existence. His crystal shame slide silently down his face, dropping onto the ground.

He was paralyzed for several moments, allowing himself to release the emotions he had bottled up. He cried for everything he didn't let himself cry for all those years ago.

He cried for his mother.

He cried for his Serenity.

He cried for his drunken father.

He cried for Yugi.

He sniffed and rubbed his face, slowly rising to his feet. When he opened his eyes, he looked back into the water, seeing his reflection and….something else. Something that had a gold glint to it. Joey squinted his eyebrows, trying to determine the mysterious object. It came to him suddenly. It was that piece of the puzzle he had stolen from Yugi. Somehow, it had managed to avoid being sucked up into the school's sewer system. All thoughts cast aside, Joey kicked off his shoes and rose his hands above his head, grabbing onto the metal rings. He placed his bare feet inside some metal rings too, and slowly began to climb the fence, grabbing onto a new hold for his hand and a new hold for his feet. He did this until he got to the top where he sat for a minute before plugging his nose and plunging down the fence.

The December water burned his skin like fire. Still submerged in the water, he had to bite down all his lip to keep from opening his mouth and swallowing the icy liquid. He allowed his body to float to the top and he inhaled a deep breath of warm air, coughing in the process. His hair stuck to his face like plaster. Joey glanced down and could see the gold gleam right beneath him. He inhaled the full capacity of his lungs and dove back down, ignoring the sting of the water, and the popping noise of his ears. He got to the cement bottom and reached out, grabbing the puzzle piece. His knuckles grazed the cement and began to bleed slightly. Joey cursed inside his mind, the ice water began to sting his wound like a thousand bees. He forced his way up to the top, surfacing with the puzzle piece held firmly inside his bloody fist.

"Y-yugi," He said, shivering, "you b-better be alive. T-that b-better have been d-damn worth it." His muscles were starting to cramp up, and Joey had to struggle to swim back to the gate. With the puzzle piece still clenched firmly in his fists he grabbed on to the gate and pulled himself up, out of the water. He felt warmer at once, sighing in relief as he climbed the rest of the fence, taking short ragged breaths. Once he got to the top, he pushed himself off and fell the rest of the way down, landing on his feet.

His skin was clammy, but beginning to regain its natural pigment. He opened up his fist and studied the puzzle piece. It looked exactly the same as it did the last time Joey held it. It hadn't lost any of its luster; it still glistened in the moonlight. With his thumb he traced the eye of Horus on it. Joey felt something strange coming from the puzzle piece. Some sort of…supernatural thing. He frowned. He didn't like the vibe he was getting from it. He even felt tempted to throw it back into the water, but he couldn't find it in him to do it. He swore he saw a small beam of light coming from the center of the Eye.

"What the hell is this?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

He tried to snuggle into the material of the front seat to keep warm. Both the passenger and driver side door of the car he was occupying had been ripped off, allowing the cold night air to attack him from both sides. It didn't help that his hands had been tied around the seat belt, above his head. They had stolen his blazer and it was now comfortably wrapped around Jack, who was getting his drool all over it. Yugi had watched helplessly. The only positive thing he could think of was that they hadn't found his backpack; the one he had hidden beneath the seat of an abandon car before the group of boys claimed him as their 'pet'.

Yugi tried to sleep, but the cackling of the fire outside was too noisy for him. He slowly opened his good eye; the other was black and swollen shut, and saw the three boys, huddled outside around the fire. They were all snoring soundly, their bellies full of the beans they had consumed for dinner. Yugi had only been given a small portion and he could hear his stomach begging for more food. He was glad though that they had untied him for a few moments to allow him to eat his portion. His wrists were starting to chaff and his skin was broken and bleeding.

Yugi at first wondered why they would place him the car while they slept outside. Surely it was warmer inside a car? Then he realized it. The interior of the car was leather. It would absorb whatever temperature it was outside. And it was freezing outside now, letting the bitter cold sink deep into Yugi's bones.

He inhaled a shaky breath through his mouth, thankful that the boys had also removed his gag. He had been their captive for almost three days now. It had been three days, right? The days had begun to blur into one long before he ran into the junk yard. Now, it was never ending. He couldn't tell you what day it was, what month it might have been. Yugi's internal clock was broken.

Bruno's snoring began to fluctuating, becoming louder and more obnoxious. Yugi groaned and tried to press on ear into the leather seat and cover the other ear with his upright shoulder, but the position was too uncomfortable, he ended up just listening to the biggest boy sleep.

Yugi didn't notice one of the other, smaller boys, Rusty, wake up and stand. He walked over to the car that served as Yugi's prison. He came over and sat on the edge, by Yugi's face. The small teen became paralyzed in fear and remained quiet.

"Listen kid," Rusty said softly, tearing at the leather interior of the car with his pointer finger, "Bruno…he's fucked in the head. You probably already know that, though." He bit his lip and looked up at the sky.

Yugi watched him, his eyes half-open. 'He thinks I'm asleep.' Yugi concluded and decided to play the part. He wanted to hear what Rusty had to say.

"But, there is a reason why he is how he is. His parents weren't the kindest. They mentally abused him all his life, starving him from the socialization he needed. He didn't go to school until he was fourteen, but by then it was too late. He didn't know how to act with other people. He got into a lot of fights at school and was expelled within six months. The only reason we befriended was because we both ended up in detention most of the time."

Yugi swore he saw a small smile come onto Rusty's face.

"His parents were furious when they discovered he got expelled. They kept him locked in his room for years. Years. Barely letting him out to use the bathroom. One day they decided they had enough and kicked him out of the house all together. We reunited and said that we would just run away together. And we did. And we met Jack. We've been living in this junkyard for several months now.

"I don't know why he did what he did to you. My only assumption is that after only being around two people in his entire life, when he saw someone new, he just snapped. Believe me, kid. I know this ain't right, keeping you hostage with us. But, if I let you go I'm afraid of what Bruno will do to me. He's fucking insane. I ain't going to risk my life saving yours."

Rusty sighed and stood up, walking back to his sleeping bag. Once Yugi was sure the boy was away from him did he open his eyes wide. He let these new found facts about his captor sink into his mind, trying to grasp it. Yugi couldn't imagine what it would be like to be purposely kept away from other people, or to be locked in one room for years. Years!

Something in the pit of Yugi's stomach turned and knotted. He felt sorry for Bruno. He felt sorry for the boy who had beaten him, treated him like a dog, and kept him tied in this car for the past two days. Yugi's abuse had been from people at school, practically strangers. Bruno had been abused by his parents. Yugi's parents may have left him, but they never laid a finger on him. He shifted uncomfortably, feeling his wire bindings eat into his skin. Yugi hissed quietly in pain, watching helplessly as blood seeped underneath from his binds. He sighed and got as comfortable as he could with his arms pinned above his head. He waited until sleep came, but even then he was still half-awake.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When the sun rose that morning it hit Yugi right in the face, blinding him instantly. He waited several moments for his eyes to adjust, but once he opened them his vision was splotchy. Yugi heard the whispered voices and shuffling feet of the three older boys. He stayed there quietly until one of them came over to him and ripped off his bindings harshly. Yugi bit his lip to keep himself from hissing in pain, but he at once began to run his sore, bloodied wrists.

"Get up, Little Shit." The voice came. Yugi cringed. It was Bruno. He didn't want to agitate the older man any further than he already was. Yugi opened his eyes, despite the blinding sun and slowly sat up, relieving the pressure that was on his bed sores.

"Eat." Bruno commanded and sloppily threw a Styrofoam bowl full of beans in his lap. Having been giving no utensil, Yugi slowly picked at his food with his fingers, eating it one bean at a time. He did his best to avoid the eyes that were remaining glued to him. Yugi did his best to ignore the discomfort the older boy's stare brought him. About five minutes passed and no one said a word. Yugi had only finished half of his beans when Bruno's face reddened.

"Faster." He barked, causing Yugi to look up. Seeing the look of fire in his eyes made Yugi shudder and he sped up his eating, finishing his bowl within a little over a minute. When he had finished, Bruno grabbed Yugi harshly by the wrist and pulled him up, getting a small yelp out of Yugi. Bruno dragged him across junkyard, with Rusty and Jack quick behind. Half-blind, Yugi stumbled several times. The only reason he didn't fall was the vice-grip that had taken captive his wrist. Yugi looked past the elbow of Bruno and saw the gate that lead back to the city. Yugi felt his heart rise a little. Were they letting him go? No one spoke, so Yugi had to find his voice and speak.

"Where are we going?" It came out just above a whisper. For a moment, Yugi regretted speaking. Would he be mad? Bruno seemed uncaring when he replied.

"Stealing. We need more food."

"Why are you taking me?"

Bruno turned around to face Yugi, still walking, still dragging Yugi across the dirt. "You're eating our food now. You can help out in getting it." They came to the gate. Bruno released his grip on Yugi and turned to face the smaller boy. "I wouldn't try to run if I were you. We are faster than you, we will catch you. And I promise that the punishment for that would be most severe. Is that understood?"

Yugi gulped and nodded. He didn't want to anger any of these trio older boys further. Truthfully, he was glad for the fresh air. He was not glad that he would have to steal .

"Excellent. " Bruno stated and looked up at the other two boys. "Jack, Rusty. You can surround his sides. Then we can go."

The other two boys each moved, one went on his right, the other on his left. The group started walking down the street, Yugi following Bruno's lead. He kept his head down and eyes focused on the heels of the man before him. They walked for about half a mile, no one speaking, Yugi not once raising his head. When the heels in front of him stopped, Yugi almost ran into Bruno, but luckily he stopped himself just in time.

Yugi looked up and saw that they were outside a small grocer. The letters on the outside were to faded to read, and no name was posted anywhere else. Bruno placed his hand on the door and turned to look at the group.

"Grab what you can and get out." He pushed open the door and walked inside. With Jack and Rusty on both of his sides, Yugi was pushed inside the old store. Once he was past the threshold, the two boys left him and began to each head down a different aisle, obvious that they had been here before.

Yugi took his time to look around his surrondings. There were twelve different aisles, each full of various foods and hygienic products. There were two small check-out registers placed against the left side of the building with a line already starting to form. Yugi walked down, his head peeking down each aisle until he came to the canned food section. Yugi walked down it and scanned each of the items. He saw the different soups, beans, and tuna. He even saw some canned stuff that normally would've made him gag if he wasn't so hungry. There was a large can of sausage that seemed to be calling out to him. Cautiously, Yugi reached up and grabbed it. It weighed about three pounds. Surely this would be enough to please Bruno?

He heard the sound of squeaking wheels on a shopping cart. He looked up and saw a young woman staring at him, a disguisted expression on her face. It didn't Yugi long to figure out why. If he looked as bad as he felt, then he could imagine how he appeared to everyone else, with his black eye and dirty face. Still feeling the piercing gaze of the woman, Yugi cast his eyes down and began to walk away with his prize.

But it didn't feel like a win. He was stealing. He was taking from another person, just like how Joey had taken his puzzle piece. He could make up excuses like how the gang of boys were making him steal, or how terribly hungry he was, but that wouldn't make a difference. There was no excuse for stealing, not matter how valid it may have sounded. He left the aisle and began to walk back to the door, his eyes glancing over at the check-out counters. Both of the cashiers seemed to engrossed in their jobs to notice him, and the people who were buying kept all their attention on the rising price of their transaction.

Yugi looked through the glass and saw that the trio of boys were already outside, as though they were waiting for him. Yugi could see that they each had several different cans. He sucked in a deep breath and walked outside, the can of sausage still in plain sight in his hands. Once the door was closed behind him, Bruno glared down at him.

"You got something?"

Yugi didn't say anything but held out the can he had stolen; he felt disgust at himself while he did so. It was obvious that Bruno was paying more attention to the size of the can than the contents because his eyes widened in surprise.

"Nice job, kid. Looks like you have a future with us."

Yugi said nothing.

"C'mon. Let's go home."

They each began to walk back to the junkyard.

'Home.' Yugi thought, carrying his can of food. 'Where is home?'

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"What the hell this?" Bruno yelled, shoving the can Yugi had stolen in his face. Yugi's eyes wavered at the intensity in Bruno's voice, but he didn't let his fear show.

"It's…sausage." He said quietly.

"Canned sausage? I don't want any of this processed shit! I wanted you to get me real food!"

Yugi gulped and stared at the man screaming at him. The other two boys were sitting just a few feet away, watching their boss yell at him like it was a movie.

"I'm…sorry."

Out of nowhere, a large hand came and slapped Yugi across the face, sending him to the dirt. His head hit the ground and Yugi could feel the concussion coming on. His vision became fuzzy and he saw the hazy outline of Bruno kneeling down to his level.

"Next time, Little Shit," even his voice sounded fuzzy, like static was playing over it, "get some real food."

He fell into the darkness.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**I have started a blog so you guys can keep on all the updates and future stories I may be writing. The link is in my profile, so please, check it out!**

** Sage: Why would they?**

** ….Because I asked them?**

** Sage: Fool. They have better things to do. **

** T.T Why do you abuse me emotionally? **


	8. Chapter 8

**I was tempted to go easy on Yugi this chapter, but then I said to myself: Why on Earth would I do that?**

**Sage: Because it would make you a good person…?**

**Hmmm…No. I'm afraid that's not it. I can't go easy on Yugi because it's just too much fun to torture him! **

**Sage: Well played, dear hikairi…well played indeed. **

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Joey found himself having to face the inevitable. Yugi was no longer in Domino. He had given consideration to this thought before, but somewhere he had always hoped that the younger teen had remained in his home town. He knew now that he would have to face the reality of the situation and would need to expand his search into the neighboring cities. Joey prayed with all his heart that Yugi had not strayed any further than that. His hand slipped down into his shoe and he pulled out a small photograph of Yugi, one that Mister Motou had given him.

Joey could tell the photo was from freshman year just by looking at Yugi. Even though Yugi was still short for his age, he had been affected by puberty some. From the picture he had, he could tell how angular Yugi's face became over that past summer, and how some of the baby fat had been eaten away. Joey was thankful that he had kept the picture in his shoe, instead of in his pants pocket, which will still damp from his evening swim. Joey walked slowly along the streets of Domino, keeping the photo clenched in his hands. His eyelids felt heavy and he had to fight to stay awake. The past few months of exchanging hours of sleep for scaling the entire city, looking for Yugi, were now starting to catch up with him. Joey wanted to just lie down, close his eyes, and sleep for a year.

Joey came to a bus stop. He knew that the buses wouldn't be running for another six hours, at least, but he just needed to rest. Just for a minute, he told himself. He sat down on the bench and put the picture of Yugi back in his shoe, then he stretched out on the bench, letting his body feel the sturdiness of the wood beneath him. He felt something else in the bench too. Deep in his heart, he knew it and didn't have to be told.

Yugi had been lying on this bench too.

In an instant, Joey knew that this was the bus stop Yugi had waited at the night he left town. It should've been unnerving, but it wasn't. Instead, Joey found it calming. He found it calming because this was the closet to Yugi he had ever been and it was a warming sensation. He stuck his hand into his pant pocket and pulled out the puzzle piece he had retrieved from the waters. The gold was cold to the touch and Joey tightened his grip on it as he studied it. He had no idea what this thing was, but he knew it was more than just a puzzle piece. He could only wonder what this piece really was.

Sighing, Joey pocketed it again and his eyelids heavy, closed them just for a moment.

He woke up to the sound of a roaring engine; the sun was just rising over the horizon. Joey sat up straight and rubbed his sore head. He let out a small groan of pain before turning his head in the direction of the engine. A bus was idling in front of the stop, the door open, waiting for Joey. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to the bus as best he could. His legs had fallen asleep and felt like jelly underneath him as he walked. But, he made it to the door of the bus and went up the steps.

The driver grunted and pointed to a small box hanging beside his right arm.

"Uh, yeah. Give me a minute." Joey said as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. It was damp from his midnight swim and he mentally groaned. He was glad he didn't have any paper bills with him. He pulled out the necessary amount of coins for the fare and dropped them into the box.

The driver tipped his hat. "Thank you, kid. Where to?"

Joey paused for a moment, staring at the wet picture he had of his sister. The color had been almost completely washed away and Joey was afraid to touch it for fear of it falling apart. "Can you take me to Tokyo?" He said quietly.

"That's out of my jurisdiction, kid." He paused for a moment. "I can take you to the city line."

"That's fine with me." Joey said and he went to take a seat. He was the only occupant on the bus and he stared mindlessly out the window, watching as all the trees and buildings blurred into one. He was mentally berating himself for being so stupid.

'I should've taken my wallet out of my pants!' He screamed inside his head. 'Now the only picture I have of Serenity is ruined!' Joey hadn't seen his sister in almost eight years. The picture he had of her she had been six, but it was the only one he had managed to get his hands on before his father thrashed them all. Warm, salty tears threatened to slip out of his eyes, but he managed to stop them. He wasn't going to cry. Serenity wouldn't want him to cry.

The last time he had seen Serenity, she could barely see him. Her eyesight had never been the best as a young child, but it was obvious by her fifth birthday that it was more extreme than anyone had ever thought. She had a tumor in her eye that was pressing on her optic nerve, making it nearly impossible for her to see. The operation to remove it would have been more than the Wheeler's could ever afford and that was one of the main reasons they divorced.

'Stop it!' Joey mentally yelled at himself. 'Stop thinking about Serenity!' He hated it when he thought of his little sister and all the struggles she would have to go through. So, he did what made the problem go away and leave him alone. He stopped thinking about it. And instantly it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

During this time the bus had not stopped once to pick up other passengers, so Joey was drawn out of his thoughts when the bus did stop. He looked out the window and saw the green sign that read 'Domino City Line'.

The bus was placed into park and the driver opened the door. He looked up at Joey through his rear view mirror. "This is as far as I can take ya, kid." He said in his rough voice.

Joey nodded and stood, walking to the door of the bus. "Thank you." He murmured and he stepped off the bus and turned to watch it drive away. With a sigh, he turned back to the sign that was beckoning him to pass it; beckoning him to cross the invisible line that marked what area was Domino and what area was Tokyo. He inhaled a deep breath through his nose and released it through his mouth. Somewhere over that line, was Yugi. Joey had no idea where he might be in that big city, but he was somewhere and Joey was determined not to leave until he had Yugi.

It wouldn't matter if it took him a few hours to find the lost boy or if it took weeks. He was not going to leave until he had Yugi following behind him. Joey clenched his fists tight until he could feel the veins in his palm throbbing. The blood flooded into his head, making him nauseated. He was afraid of what lay behind that invisible line. He was afraid of what condition he would find Yugi in—he was going to find Yugi, of that he had no doubt—but he was afraid of how damaged or scared the younger teen would be.

"I guess there's only one way to find out." Joey said aloud. He moved his right foot forward and stepped over the invisible line, crossing into Tokyo territory, leaving Domino.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

He could feel his temples throbbing. He tried to open his eyes, but the task was just too difficult. At the movement of the skin around his face, something cracked and a warm liquid ran down his cheek, dripping onto his chest. The familiar feel of the leather beneath him was registered in his mind and Yugi knew that he was back inside the car. He could feel the rising sun beating down on his face, warming his cheeks.

He craned his head, listening for the sounds of the other three boys, but none came. A thought registered in his head: Was he alone?

A small ball of hope rose up in Yugi's chest. If he was alone then maybe he could escape. He could break free of his bonds, grab his backpack (still safely under the seat of the first car, he hoped) and run as far as his feet could take him. He would ignore the pain any part of his body brought him and he would just run.

He squinted his eyes, (the swelling had finally gone down on the one) the blurry images and colors were before his eyes, but he couldn't place them together. He tried to move his legs into a more comfortable position, but they had gone numb and lame on him; his body had them pressed to hardly into the leather of the couch the entire time he was unconscious. Yugi let out a small groan of frustration, opening his eyes a little wider. He saw the familiar sight of the roof of the car above him and nothing else. But, if this was his chance to escape, he was going to take it.

He rubbed his wrists together, ignoring the pain it brought him. He tried moving them in all directions, trying to loosen the wires enough that he could slip his hands through. He could feel them loosening some and the hope in Yugi rose even more. He worked on it for about five more minutes; the wires had become slack. Yugi had almost broken free of his bonds, he was almost free, he was—

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice came and all hope in Yugi died. The three boys hadn't left the abandoned car lot. They had been there the entire time. Yugi's eyes fell and he stared at the floor of the car, examining the missing brake pedal, the rainbow of wires sticking out of the ground.

"Nothing." Yugi murmur med, his voice dead with defeat. "Nothing at all."

Bruno grunted, pleased but yet uninterested by the answer he was given. "You sure? For a moment it looked like you were trying to escape. That wouldn't be the case, now, would it?"

Yugi shook his head, fighting back the tears that threatened to leave his eyes. "No Master," he voice cracked with the use of his words. He swallowed a large lump that had grown in his throat and he inhaled a deep breath through his nose. "I would never think of doing that."

Bruno smiled and patted Yugi's head, the younger flinching at the touch. "That's what I like to hear, now." He took his hand and brushed it across Yugi's jawline, starting at the temple all the way down to his chin. He did it slowly, dragging out to the process and making it as painful for Yugi as possible.

"I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you, now." His dark voice dropped into a whisper, one that was malicious and seductive at the same time. Yugi hated that voice. "You're going to stay here with us forever. You're a part of this family now."

'The pet.' Yugi thought, fear paralyzing his body. This was probably the most Bruno had ever spoken to him at once and he seemed different somehow. Yugi couldn't place it until his nostrils caught the scent of something unusual. Yugi recognized almost instantly. It was a something he had smelled at school a few times, when some of the jocks decided that the boy's bathroom was a good place to experiment with such stuff.

Bruno was drunk.

Yugi knew the dangers of hanging around a drunk. Images of his parents flashed before his eyes. He remembered what they were like when drunk and it was not fun. They would be loving and showering him with affection one moment, then hostile and rejecting the next. Bruno was obviously in the loving stage, but Yugi didn't want to see what he was like when he reached the hostility stage. Yugi knew what he was like when he was sober and coherent. He couldn't imagine what the older boy would be like in his current state.

"We'll be a family forever." His deep voice purred, his hands petting Yugi's matted hair.

"Forever?"

"Forever and ever."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Damn it!" Joey cried, throwing his arms up in the air. He was beyond pissed. He had been searching the city for Yugi for the entire day, the sun now starting to set behind him, and yet he had only managed to reach a few square miles. Tokyo was massive, and at the rate he was going, it would take weeks to search all of it. He sighed and bowed his head, wrapping his hands around it. The sun had started to set, marking the twelfth hour he had spent searching.

He groaned and continued to walk down the road, shoving his way past the floods of people walking home from work. He had to turn sideways to get by the groups of people, which consisted mostly of middle aged men and women giving him glares. Joey continued to walk, his mind empty of all thoughts, when his stomach growled. Joey brought his hand to it and grimaced. The last thing to fill his stomach was the tea from Mister Motou. And that had been nearly twenty-four hours ago. Joey sighed and reached for his wallet, now dry and felt that he still had some coins left. Perhaps he had enough to buy himself a small snack. He reached down and pulled the picture he had of Yugi out of his shoe and placed it inside his wallet, right beside the faded picture of his sister. He looked up and saw that he was outside a small café and was barely empty.

Joey walked inside; the small toiling of a bell was heard. There was a young woman standing behind the counter, her attention was seized by the television above her head. Apparently it was supposed to rain tonight.

Joey approached the counter and he waited for the woman to notice him. Her eyes turned towards him and she gave a small smile. "Good evening, sir." She began, her fingers ready to type his order into the register, "what can I get you?"

"Um.." Joey looked up at the menu, searching for an item would be in his budget. He clenched his eyes tightly for a moment. "Can I get a muffin?" It was the only item he could purchase with the few yen he had in his wallet.

"Coming right up." Her eyes examined him up and down, falling on his blue blazer. Then, they faltered. Joey noticed this and he found it suspicious.

"Is something wrong?" He asked his voice stern.

"Your uniform…it's a Domino High School one, right?" The girl's voice had become quiet and fearful.

Joey nodded, unsure of what to make of the question. "Yeah…is there a problem?"

She shook her head rapidly, "No, no. I was just…curious."

Joey frowned, but an idea came to him. He pulled out the picture he had of Yugi and placed it on the counter, showing it to the woman behind the counter. "Have you seen him?" Joey asked.

The woman took the picture and her eyes began to water.

"I'll take that as a yes." Joey mumbled.

She handed him back the picture. "My name is Amy." She said softly. "Yugi..he came in here for the first time about two months ago and he would come in a few days a week. I would give him whatever food I could without my manager getting suspicious. The last time he came in…" Amy paused and swallowed a lump in her throat. "I was angry at him for having stayed in this foreign city so long. He was dirty and tired and hungry, and I told him that if he didn't go home I would," she paused again, crystal tears falling out of her eyes, "I told him I would call the police and have them take him home."

Joey felt hope rise up in his chest. He had a lead to where Yugi might be. He now knew that Yugi hung out around in this area, which made him even happier to know that he wasn't searching in the wrong places. "When was that last time he came in?"

"It would be about a week now." She sniffed, but then her eyes turned angry. She looked up at Joey, the red flash showing in her eyes. "Who are you? Why are you concerned about him?"

"My name is Joey Wheeler and I—"

"Wait." She interrupted. "Joey Wheeler?"

Joey grinned sheepishly. "I take it you've heard of me?"

Amy scoffed and pointed an accusing finger towards Joey. "I know what you did. You're the reason Yugi ran away!"

"I know." Joey said, ashamed.

"You're the reason-." She paused in midsentence. "Wait, you do?"

"Yes." Joey hung his head. "I cannot explain how awful I felt when I learned Yugi ran away. I spent the past two months searching Domino for him. It didn't occur to me until a few days ago that he had left the city. Please, Amy. I know I've some shitty things to him in the past, but I really am sorry. And I know it doesn't mean a damn thing after all this time, but I thought that if I found him, I could at least make-up for some of the stuff I did."

Amy was silent and stiff, absorbing all the information she had been given. After a moment of silence, she sighed. "Alright. I believe you. Wait right here." She turned around and went into the kitchen, coming out with a muffin wrapped up in a plastic bag. "Here." She handed Joey the muffin he had ordered.

The blonde teen nodded and reached out to pay her the money but she stopped him. "Don't worry about it." She said. "Just find Yugi. That's payment enough."

Joey nodded. "I intend too." Then, he took his food and exited the café without saying another word to Amy. The bell toiled once more and the woman behind the counter never spoke another word to him.

The streets were less crowded now; it was the time between Tokyo's day life and its night life. Joey noticed that most of the clubs and bars were beginning to turn on their neon 'Open' sign. He walked with joy in his step, glad to have a lead onto where Yugi may be.

He walked for about a mile, nibbling on his pastry until it was gone, when out of nowhere he stopped. Joey turned his head to his right and saw that he was outside the fence of an abandoned car lot. Normally, he would've continued walking; completely ignoring the desolate piece of land, but something was drawing him towards like, as though it were a magnet. It was though the voice of God was inside his head, commanding him to go into the old car lot.

Joey took his first step into the lot and then took another. He walked in a straight line and when he saw the three sleeping figures, thought nothing of it. Instead, his eyes were locked on the image of an abandoned car in front of him. He could see a dark silhouette of a smaller figure in an awkward position. Joey moved closer to the car, careful of his footing as to not wake the sleeping trio. Once he got up to the car, he had to stifle a gasp.

Lying in the car in front of him was a battered Yugi Motou. The young teen was in an uncomfortable sleep, a pained frown plastering his face. He was dirty and bruised and one side of his face was covered in dried blood. His hands were tied above his hand with an old car wire, pressing into the thin skin on his wrists.

Joey felt tears sting at the corner of his eyes. He never imagined Yugi would get into trouble this deep. "Oh, God…" He whispered so quietly, even he barely heard his voice. "Yugi, what have they done to you?"

At once Joey began to untie Yugi's bindings, tugging at them, shaking Yugi's wrists. At the movement, Yugi slowly began to wake, his eyes cracking open. He saw the blurred image of a familiar face working at untying him. The figure became clearer and Yugi let out a small cry once he realized who it was.

"Joey?" He said aloud. "Joey Wheel—" The blonde's hand came down and covered Yugi's mouth. He brought a finger to his lip.

"Quiet!" He whispered sternly, his brown eyes going over to the sleeping trio. "Don't wake them." He removed his hand and started back to untying Yugi, cursing under his breath and the tightness of the wires. They had to be embedded into the younger's skin!

"What are you doing here?" Yugi whispered, watching Joey work at his bindings.

"I'm here to take you home. Look, before you say anything, I feel awful about what I did to you. It's not just what I said to you that day. I'm sorry about everything I've ever done. I've spent every night for the last two months searching for you and I swore to myself I wouldn't stop until I found you." The bindings finally snapped and Yugi at once began to rub them.

"I guess I can stop searching now." He tried to joke. "Come with me, before the Three Stooges wake up." He helped Yugi sit up and to his feet, but Yugi's numb legs buckled and he fell on top of them.

"My legs…" He moaned.

Without another word Joey bent down and scooped Yugi up in his arms and began to carry him, despite a groan of protest from the smaller teen. "I'm not waiting here until your legs wake up." The blonde was appalled by how easy it was for him to carry the smaller teen. He was aware that Yugi was a good foot and a half shorter than him, but he shouldn't weigh this little.

He began to make his way out of the car lot; Yugi rose and fell in his arms with each step. He wasn't watching his footing and tripped over an empty can, nearly falling to the ground. He cursed, louder than he had intended and it echoed in the night sky.

He then became silent. His profanity was no longer the only thing filling in the sky. He had another noise, and when the voice of the other man reached his ears, he nearly fainted.

"And just where do you think you're going, Little Shit?"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**Oh dear. I just help myself! **

** Sage: And I'm the yami?**

** Also, don't forget to check out my blog. On it you can get information about upcoming chapters for current stories, plus a preview to my next project! The link is on my profile, so please, please, pretty please, read it! It will make me feel happy.**

** Till next time, adios! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Only one more chapter after this. I'm sorta glad because I can't wait to get started on my next story. For those of you who read my blog, you already know what that is.**

**Sage: Yeah. You're going to need all the time you can get to finish that story.**

**Yes, yes I will. Well, here is what you guys have been waiting for: The dramatic (not really) suspenseful (not at all) fight between Joey and Bruno! (If you can even call it a fight). **

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

At the sound of the older boy's voice, Joey turned around, Yugi still in his arms. The older boy was shorter than Joey, but not by much. His eyes were dark and hard and he was scowling. He seemed to blend into the backdrop of the nighttime sky and Joey had to squint to make out an outline of him. Not too far away, he could make out the shapes of the other two boys waking up and standing, but neither said a word.

The older boy walked up to Joey, his arms crossed around his chest.

"Where are you going with him?" His voice was dark and cruel and Joey felt shivers crawl up his spine, but he did not let it show.

"I'm taking him home." Joey said, letting an angry tone come to his voice, in hopes of intimidating the older boy.

He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, letting a sort of sadistic smile come to his face. "But, he is home."

Joey growled quietly. He didn't like the feeling this guy gave him, and he was only reminded that Yugi had been held captive by this manic. He carefully set Yugi down on the ground and began to walk towards the older man, his two comrades were now fully awake and standing by his side.

"Joey…" Yugi said, the fear was evident in his voice.

"Relax, Yuge." Joey said, trying to conceal his own fear. "This guy doesn't look so tough."

"If you feel that way," Bruno said, revealing his top row of yellow teeth, "then you shouldn't have any problem taking on all three of us."

"That's not fair!" Yugi cried in the distant.

"Shut up, you!" Jack yelled.

Joey pulled back his fist and made contact with Jack's face in less than a second, knocking the boy on his butt. "Don't talk to him like that." Joey growled, his shoulders rising and falling with every breath as adrenaline began to run through his body.

Jack brought a hand up to his nose and touched the crimson liquid that was coming out of each nostril. He brought it down and examined his pointer and index finger which were now covered in the substance. All was quiet for a moment. Then, Jack growled and stood to his feet.

"You're going to pay for that, punk." He spat. He crouched back like a football player and then ran towards Joey, preparing for the tackle. Joey was much taller than Jack and he outstretched his arm. Jack didn't have time to stop and he ended up clotheslining himself, being knocked to the ground. He coughed and sputtered and his neck began to bruise and throb.

Seeing his companion on the ground, Rusty took charge. He ran up to Joey and punched him in the side. Joey grunted and bent over, leaving him vulnerable to the next attack. Rusty took his elbow and hammered it into the back of Joey's neck, sending the taller boy to the ground with a loud grunt. Joey felt two pairs of feet starting to kick him in the head and side. He bit his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain. He clamped his eyes shut and blindly stuck out a hand, grabbing onto Rusty's ankle and pulled him down.

Rusty hit his head hard on the ground and let out a scream of agony, followed by a curse. Then, Joey reached up with his arm and grabbed Jack by his shirt and pulled him down. Joey flipped Jack over his body and the smaller boy slammed into the ground hard on his back, his head re-bounded and then smacked onto the ground. Joey could feel the ground underneath him becoming moist in blood.

He sucked in a breath of the cold, night air and shakily stood to his feet. The two boys were unconscious by his feet; blood seeped out from behind their heads. Joey panted; the adrenaline of fighting made his heart beat two times faster than normal. His headed pounded as blood was traveling through his body at record speeds. His shoulders rose and fell with each ragged breath he took. He loved every minute of it. He savored every last drop of adrenaline in his system. He loved the way his palms began to sweat when he clenched them into a fist. He loved fighting so much.

"Joey…"

The soft whimper brought Joey out of his thoughts. He spun around and saw Yugi behind held above the ground by Bruno. The larger boy had one arm across Yugi's chest. The other was right on top of his neck.

Joey cursed. He had completely forgotten about the third boy. And this one was the biggest and most muscular of them all. He saw the fear in Yugi's eyes, and the way the boy was fighting back his tears. It angered Joey. He growled and clenched his fists and slowly began to walk towards the last boy.

"Put him down." Joey demanded, his voice was laced with anger.

Bruno smirked and his grip around Yugi's neck tightened. Yugi let out a small whimper.

"I can easily break his neck." Bruno said with a smile. "I believe you are in no position to be making demands."

"Joey," Yugi cried, struggling for air, "just go."

"No. I ain't leaving without you, Yuge."

Yugi was about to object, but Bruno moved his hand away from Yugi's neck and over his mouth, silencing the youngest boy. Yugi struggled against his assailant; he kicked his feet wildly, he bit as hard as he could at the hand covering his mouth, but it was all in vain. Bruno did not budge.

Joey seethed and walked slowly up to Bruno. He dared not run for fear of Yugi's safety. He was about half a foot away from Bruno when he stopped and look the older boy straight in the eyes. Joey was using everything he had to intimidate his foe, but he knew that it was going to take a lot to scare this man.

"Put him down." Joey repeated, trying to avoid looking into Yugi's pleading eyes. He need all of his composure, and seeing Yugi helpless and scared was only going to break that. "This is between you and me."

"You just knocked out my two comrades, and you're telling me that this is between only you and me?" Bruno chuckled darkly. "Hypocrisy suits no one, kid. Especially little punks like you."

Joey inhaled a deep breath through his nose and clenched his fists. He had to do something to save Yugi, but with him being in the arms of a psychopath, his options were limited. He considered trying to take out his foe, and do his best to avoid Yugi, but it was risky. If the angle of his fist hit the older boy wrong, Yugi would be sent to the ground and he would end up like the two boys behind Joey. Joey wasn't sure if that was something he wanted to risk, but it may be his only option to save Yugi.

"You're one to talk about little punks." Joey said quietly, but his tone was dark and menacing. "You've been making Yugi's life hell. Why don't you pick on someone…more your level?"

"Fine. I'll fight you. I'm sure it'll be fun having two pets."

Joey ignored the comment and pointed to Yugi, who was still struggling to break free from Bruno's grip. "Put him down."

Bruno released his hand from over Yugi's mouth and the younger boy coughed. He placed Yugi down on the ground beside him like he was nothing more than a bag of garbage and then he walked up to Joey. Joey was taller so Bruno had to crane his neck back in order to look Joey in the eyes. He cracked his knuckles, and then his neck. He placed the palms his hands onto Joey's chest and shoved the taller boy backwards.

Joey ran at Bruno and punched him the face. Bruno stepped back a bit and licked away the blood that was running out his mouth. He chuckled. Then, he ran towards Joey, tackling him to the ground. Joey hit his head on the ground, a small thump echoed in the night.

Groaning, Joey sat up and spat. He got to his feet with mild difficulty. He was not aware, but Bruno came at him again, and this time both boys went to the ground. They wrestled each other, constantly rolling on top of one another to deliver a blow or to scratch to his foe. Joey was doing poorly. Blood was spilling from his face and he had accumulated several bruises already. His opponent still had the one busted lip Joey gave him earlier, with a few bruises here and there, but ultimately he was in much better shape than Joey.

Yugi struggled with watching the fight. He barely knew Joey. He knew that Joey was the boy who made his school life hell for the past five years. He knew it was Joey who told him to go away. So, why was he here now, fighting to save him? It didn't make sense, and Yugi wasn't sure on how to approach the situation.

Yugi bit his lip and turned his head. He couldn't watch the two older boys fight. It made his stomach churn.

Joey had apologized, but Yugi wasn't sure if he should believe or not. He couldn't imagine why Joey would come all this way for him to end up playing a practical joke on him. He sounded really sincere, Yugi thought. But yet there was that small part of him that didn't want to trust Joey for fear of getting hurt again. Joey had only hurt him in the past; why would he suddenly have a change of heart? Was he really sorry for all that he had done?

He could hear Joey grunting and crying out in pain as he fought Bruno. An incredible amount of guilt washed over Yugi. Joey was fighting Bruno for _him. _Joey was suffering all this pain for _him. _Joey had come into a foreign city searching for _him. _There could be no way that Joey was enduring all of this just so he could end up pranking Yugi. He must've really meant what he said.

With his new found knowledge, Yugi knew he couldn't let Joey suffer alone. He had to help them. He turned his eyes back to the two fighting boys. They were back on their feet now. Joey had blood dripping out of his nose, and his breathing was becoming labored. Yugi could see the struggle Joey was putting up to win this fight against Bruno, and by the looks of it, if he continued, he wouldn't win. He was tired and injured, while Bruno was still pumped and barely had any scratches on him. Yugi could see the glaze in Joey's eyes as he became disorientated and Yugi knew it was only a matter of time until the older boy collapsed, which would be a death sentence for them both.

Before he knew what had come over him, Yugi found that he was on his now awake feet, running towards Bruno who had his back turned to him. He was just a few feet behind Bruno and then he jumped and latched his arms around Bruno's neck.

"Yugi?" Joey cried, obviously stunned.

Yugi ignored Joey and locked his arms tight around Bruno's neck, securing himself. Bruno screamed and tried to shake Yugi off of him, but the younger boy had his arms locked tight. He tried to pry Yugi's arms apart, but the younger boy only tightened his grip. He was being shaken around fiercely, as though he were on a roller coaster.

"Now Joey!" He cried, hoping that his distraction would work.

Joey seemed to have understood for Yugi saw out of the corner of his eye the blonde's fist coming into contact with Bruno's face. Bruno tumbled backwards, and then fell to the ground, taking Yugi with him. He felt his grip around Bruno's neck being pried and he was thrown away. He let out a small gasp before his head collided with the ground.

Joey stood, panting, his shoulders rising up and down. Bruno was on the ground, not making any movements except for the rising and falling of his chest. He was out like a light, and Joey felt a sense of pride wash over him in the knowledge that he had been able to beat the older boy.

"Of course I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help, Yuge." He said with a small laugh, acknowledging the help the younger boy had given him.

But he was met with no answer.

"Yugi?" Joey called, raising his head. He scanned his eyes and saw Yugi on the ground, about ten feet from the larger boy. His face was in the dirt and he wasn't moving.

Joey felt his heart drop in his stomach. "Yugi!" He cried and he ran over to the smaller boy. Joey fell to his knees inches before Yugi and he turned the younger boy onto his back. Yugi's face was stained with dirt, and a bruise was forming on his cheek. A small amount of blood fell from a scrap at the top of his head.

"Yugi, wake up." Joey whispered, shaking the younger teen. "Come on, man. Let's go. We have to go before they all come too."

Yugi remained motionless.

"Yugi, please. I promised your grandfather I would take you home. Don't make me break that promise."

Then, Yugi let out a soft groan. Joey mentally cheered when he saw the young teen's eyelids flicker, revealing his amethyst eyes. He blinked a few times to let his eyesight adjust to the dark. His eyes moved to his right, seeing the form beside him.

"J….Joey?"

"Yeah, Yuge. It's me." He smiled, knowing that everything was going to be okay. He would take Yugi home and everything would be okay. Even if Yugi never forgave him for the deeds he had done, (and Joey didn't blame him if he didn't), he knew that he could live his life knowing that he had saved Yugi and that he had brought the younger teen home.

Somewhere in the distant, a crack of thunder was heard.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**Wow. That was terrible. **

** Sage: It was written by you; of course it was terrible! **

** This chapter was hard to write. I'm bad with fight scenes, so that explains why this chapter is much shorter than some of my others. But, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. **

**To my friends in the US, Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your turkey, stuffing, corn, and whatever else you may have! And remember to be thankful for what you have, for you could have it much worse.**

** God Bless! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Well….here's the last chapter of Exodus. Thanks to everyone who enjoyed it, reviewed, and favorite-ted it. It means so much to me. **

-0-0-0-0-0-

Joey helped Yugi to his feet, taking the younger boy by the arm and pulling him upwards. Both boys stumbled backwards as they tried to regain their balance, but managed to stay steady. Yugi let a small smile come to his face and he looked over at Joey.

"Thank you." He said quietly. No words could express his gratitude for what the older boy had done. He hadn't knocked out three men; he had saved him.

Joey blushed slightly, avoiding Yugi's gaze. It was an awkward situation for them both. "It's the least I could do….after everything…." The blonde boy trailed off, not having an idea how he could express his sorrow for all the misdeeds he had done to Yugi over the past five years. Not words seemed worthy enough; none of them had enough emphasis to express it truthfully.

"None of that matters now." Yugi said, looking at his feet. It was an awkward conversation for him too. "What does matter is the fact that you came for me. You felt enough about me to come and look for me."

Joey was surprised by this answer. He excepted Yugi to blow up on him, bringing up past memories. Instead, he was just waving them off like they meant nothing. As though none of the past five years of teasing, bullying, and harassing mattered. How could anyone be that forgiving? Joey licked his lips; he never knew Yugi was this compassionate and forgiving. He exhaled through his mouth and raised his head, so that he and Yugi were now making eye contact.

"Come on, Yugi." He said cocking his head in the direction of the road. "Let's go home."

Yugi nodded, but then his eyes widened. "Wait," he said turning around and walking to one of the old cars. "my backpack!" He ran to the old Junker that he had stored his backpack in that first day. The door was still missing, but he pushed aside the driver's seat and let out a sigh of relief. He could see the black fabric peaking out. Yugi grabbed the straps and pulled out the bag, propping it up on the side of the seat. It looked untouched by the young teen just had to double-check. He unzipped it and his heart flew into his chest when he saw the golden box.

He pulled it out and opened the lid, an ecstasy of relief flooding through his veins when he saw the Puzzle. It was just as he last saw it; completed save for the missing piece. But, it didn't matter anymore, Yugi thought. He was safe and would e going home. He still had most of the treasure his grandfather had given him, and he could safely say that he did finish the Puzzle. He finished it with all the pieces he had.

Joey watched Yugi from his spot. He saw the look of pure pleasure come across the younger boy's face when he opened the golden box. Joey unconsciously dug into his pocket and grabbed the puzzle piece. He knew it was something the younger boy would be wanting, but he was unsure of how he would go about returning it. Should he just return it now? Or, should he wait until they return home? Joey bit his lip; He had no idea how he should approach this situation. But, his thoughts came to a halt as he watched Yugi place the box back inside his book bag and put it on, walking back towards the blonde.

There was a bright stream of lighting, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Before Joey knew it, rain was falling from the sky, sticking his blonde bangs to his forehead. He groaned and pulled his school blazer up over his head as a form of protection, but he could still feel the ice cold water stinging his skin.

Yugi came running up to him, trying to use his backpack as an umbrella. His hair was sticking to his forehead and to itself. The red and magenta streaks seemed to merge together into a maroon color. Drops of water ran down Yugi's dirty face, leaving behind a clean streak. He looked like a zebra with the black and white strips on his face. The water hit the ground beneath them and some of splashed back up. Mud was formed under their feet and Yugi kicked it up as he ran closer to Joey. He stopped just a few feet in front of the blonde, breathing heavily. The rain always seemed to pump up people's adrenaline, and with it still running after their fight, Yugi was sure he had never felt his heart had never beat as fast as it was now.

"Well," Yugi said trying to catch his breath as he readjusted his backpack over his head, "that was unexpected."

Joey smiled and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, but maybe it's for the best." There was a roar of thunder and a bright flash of lighting illuminated the sky. Joey's smile died and he crinkled his nose. His mouth contorted into a half-frown, half-smile. "You smell like shit."

Yugi actually laughed at the statement. It was a light laugh, but it was the first time he had laughed in a long time and it felt good. Joey was teasing him, but it was in the way that friends tease one-another. It didn't mean any harm, and no feelings were hurt.

"I'm serious!" Joey added, his eyebrows furrowed. "When was the last time you took a bath?"

Yugi rolled his eyes playfully. "Sorry." He said sarcastically. "I meant to jump in the puddle this morning, but I didn't have enough time."

Joey smirked, impressed with Yugi's wit. He let out a playful sigh; how could he ever think to pick on this kid just because he was short? Yugi was smart, and he proved that he had survival skills to have lasted this long outside of his home. Joey realized the errors of his ways, and while Yugi may have forgiven him, the older boy knew it would take longer to forgive himself. But here, at this moment, with both of them laughing and joking in the rain, a step had been taken. It was a baby-step, but Joey knew it would was just the beginning to their friendship.

"Come on, Yuge. Let's get you home."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The rain was keeping him awake, but it didn't make much of a difference to Solomon. He hadn't gotten much sleep anyways these last few weeks. The guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders as he thought of everything that he had that Yugi was currently deprived of. A warm bed to sleep in, hot food to eat, shelter from the rain. He would have gladly stepped outside his home and would sit in the rain, just so he could experience what Yugi was experiencing, but he had already grown sick this winter month and he knew that if he stepped outside, he would begging for pneumonia.

He adjusted himself in his chair, sinking a little deeper into the cushion. He brought the cup of tea to his lips and took a small sip, allowing the steaming liquid to warm his entire body. The lightening made a light show outside, casting various shadows behind the moving clouds.

His mind strayed to the young man he met last evening: the classmate of Yugi's. Solomon was horrified of the tales the young man spun. He had no idea what kind of torment Yugi was suffering at school. Had he known, he would've pulled the boy out and home-schooled him at once.

But he didn't know. And that was what hurt him most. Yugi never once told him of the different bullies he had to face at school daily. Solomon couldn't comprehend why Yugi would keep such a secret from him. They had always been honest with one another. Solomon had made it clear the day Yugi's parents left him that the young boy could confide anything with him. The fact that Yugi had felt so compelled to keep such a thing secret cut into the old man's heart. He always believed that he and Yugi had a deep bond, a deep trust between one another.

He sighed and his eyes flickered to the digital clock on the television console. 1: 22.

It was past one in the morning and he had no idea where Yugi may be. The young man—Joey Wheeler, he had said his name was—said he had been searching the city for Yugi the entire time he had been missing. The fact that he had come up with nothing had lead the young man to come to the conclusion that Yugi was no longer in Domino. While he didn't want too, Solomon had to believe that it was likely. He told Joey not to come back until he found Yugi, and Joey said that was his intention. He hoped the young man was true to his word. He didn't think he could live much longer without Yugi. The house was empty and unusually quiet without his presence.

He had fired that investigator when he learned that the man was doing nothing to help find Yugi. Solomon hadn't seen his grandson's face on flyers or in the newspaper, and he knew that to increase the odds of Yugi being found was to get the word out. Solomon sighed and traced his finger around the rim of the cup, staring at his reflection through the copper colored liquid. He had doubted himself since the days after his last conversation with Officer Daisuke. Had he made the right decision in firing him? The Officer had made no effort whatsoever in finding his grandson. He had made excuses, saying how runaways usually return home on their own, or how they often committed suicide.

Solomon gulped as he thought of the latter statistic. What is Yugi had killed himself? Solomon didn't know how he could live with himself if he learned that his grandson, the boy he had raised practically from infancy, was dead. It had been Hell living these past few months with no knowledge of Yugi's well-being. Was ignorance bliss? Was he better off thinking that there was a still chance Yugi could be alive? Or was he better knowing the truth, even if it meant that Yugi was no longer alive.

Suddenly, the silence of his living room was broken by a loud ringing noise. It startled the old man so much; he jumped slightly out of his seat, dropping his cup of tea onto the rug. The brown liquid seeped out of the container and began to stain the beige colored carpet. Solomon stared at it for a moment, trying to place together what had just happened.

It was then that he realized that the noise had been his doorbell. Still trying to recover from the shock, he shakily stood to his feet and began to walk towards his front door. The door bell rang again and Solomon quickened his pace, annoyed at the noise. It was well past midnight. Who on Earth would be ringing his doorbell at this time of the night—morning?—was what he wanted to know.

He turned the handle and opened the door, the sound of the falling rain intensified. He didn't even look to see who was on the other side of his door before he opened his mouth and began to chastise whoever it was for being out so late.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, young man? Does your mother know you're out here? What is it you want?" The questions fell out of his mouth rapidly; he was speaking so fast even he had trouble understanding what he was saying, much less, he figured, the young man standing in front of him.

"It's good to see you too, Grandpa." The boy said, his voice was hard to hear over the rain and thunder.

"Listen young man, we're not open yet, but—" Solomon paused as the boy's words just registered in his brain. Now, he took the time to look at the person standing on his doorstep. His hair was filthy; it was caked in mud and it was terribly matted. His face was dirty in most parts, but clean in others. The rain had washed away some of the grim, leaving his face stripped like a zebra's. He was also terribly skinny; his clothes hung off his thin frame. Had Solomon run into this person out on the streets, he wouldn't have recognized him.

But then Solomon looked into the boy's eyes. They were amethyst colored and had a small sparkle in them. Only one person had those eyes.

"Y—Yugi?" He stuttered, not believing his eyes.

The young boy nodded hastily, tears of happiness dripping out his eyes.

Before they knew it both had embraced and were on their knees, out in the rain. Solomon held his grandson close, not wanting to ever let go, his arms wrapped awkwardly around Yugi's backpack. They each spoke to each other, each telling one another how much they were missed. Yugi promised he would never run away again, he told of how sorry he was for leaving while Solomon told of how worried he had been.

After several tear-filled moments, they stood and then Solomon noticed the second figure standing outside his door.

"Joseph," he said, "please, come in!"

Joey looked reluctant but he did as Solomon asked. Solomon embraced the blonde in a hug, even though the older boy stiffened at the contact. "You did it!" Solomon cried, releasing Joey. "You found my boy!"

Joey couldn't help but smile. "I told you I would."

"Please, please, sit down. We have much to talk about!" He turned to face his grandson. "Yugi, you looked absolutely starved. Go upstairs and wash as best you can; I'll start up some stew."

Yugi nodded and complied with his grandfather's orders, running up the stairs and to his bathroom.

The old man watched happily; no words could express how glad he was to have Yugi safe and back home. He turned back to Joey.

"I do hope you'll stay. It's late enough already and I wouldn't feel comfortable sending you home in this rain."

Joey was about to object,; his mouth was halfway open and his tongue was already forming the words, saying how he didn't want to impose, and how his father was probably worried about him. The latter was completely false; Joey was sure his father was either out in a bar, or lying home at bed in a drunken slumber. But, nobody needed to know of his family's problems. The words were almost out, but then there was a huge clap of thunder, followed, almost instantaneously, by a blinding light.

Joey sighed. He didn't want to walk home in the rain…and his father more than likely wouldn't notice his absence. He realized he had been silent for a few moments, Solomon Motou still patiently awaiting his answer.

Joey gave the old man a small smile. "I'd love too."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

They talked until the sun rose, the trio enjoying the ramen that Mister Motou had brewed up. Yugi and Joey did not mention the gang. They saw no need for it. Yugi did not wish to tell of his time on the streets, and Joey did not bring up the subject. Even Mister Motou seemed to not want to know of his grandson's life for the past couple of months.

At about eight in the morning, Yugi and Solomon decided that they should go to bed. Joey bid them good-bye and he waited in the foyer of the Game Shop while Yugi ran upstairs.

Solomon was there to walk Joey outside. The blonde stuck his hand inside his pocket and gripped the Puzzle piece. He handed it to the old man.

"Can you give it to him? For me?"

"Of course." He took the puzzle piece away from Joey and held it in his hand. "Thank you again, Joseph. If there is ever anything I can do to repay you—"

"Don't worry about it." Joey interrupted. "I did this out of the goodness of my heart, and as a way to apologize to Yugi. That's all I need."

Then, Joey turned and began to walk down the road. He waved good-bye to Solomon Motou and began to walk home. He was tired, not having slept in nearly two days, and didn't feel like going to school.

Once he got to his apartment, he caught sight of his father passed out on the couch. Joey ignored him and went to his room where he fell onto his bed and fell asleep within seconds.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

When Yugi opened his eyes, he felt fully rested. There was no feeling like being able to sleep in your own bed. His eyes flickered to his digital clock which told him it was mid-afternoon. Yugi stood and wandered his room for a moment, not believing that he was really home. A flash of yellow from his desk caught his attention.

Yugi noticed it was the missing piece once he got there. At first he was surprised; he was sure that the puzzle piece was long gone. But, here it was sitting on his desk, like nothing had ever changed. Yugi smiled. He knew that Joey must have found it.

There was another object on his table. Yugi recognized it as a booster pack for Duel Monsters. He realized that it was a gift from his Grandfather. Yugi became excited and he picked up the packet and pulled off the aluminum wrapping.

Staring in front of him was the Dark Magician.

Yugi let out a small laugh of delight. He finally had the card he had lusted after. And now he had the final piece to his Millennium Puzzle. His life, it looked, was finally starting to fall into place.

Yugi took the puzzle piece and went searching for the rest of the Puzzle. He grabbed it out of his backpack which rested right by his bed. He took out the Puzzle and traced the empty space in the center with his thumb. Then, he took the final piece and slid it into place.

There was a small click.

And then…

A bright illuminated from the eye in the center.

-0-0-0-0-0-

**Well, it's that time of the year where I disappear from fanfiction for a few weeks to work on bigger and grander projects. **

**Sage: Please, take all the time you need. **

**My next project is one I'm very excited about! I've spent close to a year planning it and now I'm finally going to start! All info is on my blog for those who are interested. Thank you for reading Exodus! **


End file.
